


Interruptions, Tension & Sacrifices

by CreampuffedHollstein



Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types, Carmilla - J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Genre: Carmilla Big Bang 2015, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 07:12:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 35,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5239229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreampuffedHollstein/pseuds/CreampuffedHollstein
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What…” Laura’s voice cracked, her throat still dry. She cleared it and tried again. “Carmilla. What did you do?”</p><p>A peak into the head's of our favorite Carmilla characters and some re-imagining of season two.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to the Carmilla Big Bang 2015. I hope you guys find it at least somewhat enjoyable.
> 
> Go check out Carmillaismygalpal's aesthetic's that she created for this piece of fan fiction.

“So you’re a giant black cut, huh?”

Carmilla couldn’t help the smile that spread across her lips and the laugh that escaped because of Laura’s words. Of course that was the first thing she had to say after they’d kissed. It was very Laura. But that’s what she liked so much about this nerd still hanging onto her like she’s about to disappear again. When Carmilla’s eyes moved back up from the floor, they locked with Laura’s immediately. There was tension, good tension, running between them and Carmilla could feel the spark running up and down her spine.

“Yeah, I am.”

It was all that Carmilla managed to get out before Laura was leaning forward to kiss her again. Their lips met, electricity was coursing through their bodies and lighting them up. The tiny human was being pushed back towards Carmilla’s bed, the back of her knees hitting it abruptly and making Laura’s eyes pop open in surprise. The freshman hadn’t even been aware they were moving until she felt the mattress hit against her. Laura immediately sat down on the bed, eyes never leaving Carmilla’s, not even for a moment. The smile lighting up Carmilla’s face was something Laura never wanted to forget. After thinking that she’d lost Carmilla forever, it would have been an understatement to say it was refreshing to see her face looking down at her own.

Carmilla was still standing, gazing down at Laura like she was the most beautiful thing she’s ever encountered in her entire life. And in the vampire's mind, Laura was. Before Laura could even think about saying anything else, Carmilla leaned down to capture her lips in a heated kiss. Laura felt Carmilla’s tongue lick ever so gently against her bottom lip, asking for permission. Unable to deny the girl she had so clearly been falling for, Laura opened her mouth enough to grant Carmilla entrance. Their tongues met, but not before she noticed that Carmilla had bitten her bottom lip quickly. It sent a shock down Laura’s spine, tingles and goosebumps popping up all over her body.

The raven haired vampire could hear Laura’s heart pick up its beat higher and higher, making the tiniest of smiles dance on her lips, which were thankfully pressed firmly against Laura’s own. Carmilla would never admit it, but she had had dreams about this, about kissing Laura. Her daydreams had not done the tiny human any justice. Her lips were smooth against her own. Gentle, but firm at the same time. It was almost as if Carmilla had never been kissed before Laura. God, what a sap she was. But she didn’t care, as long as she could spend forever kissing the girl who had her arms wrapped around her waist.

Laura’s arms kept squeezing around Carmilla’s waist tighter and tighter. She was afraid to let her go, thinking perhaps this was some dream she was having, that Carmilla wasn’t actually alive and kissing her so perfectly. As their lips parted, Laura opened her eyes once more to gaze at the woman smiling down at her. If this was a dream, Laura never wanted to wake up. Carmilla gave a quick kiss to the Laura’s forehead before laying her head atop hers, wrapping her arms around the girl’s shoulders tightly. It felt right having Laura in her arms. Almost like she had been made to do exactly that.

The freshman laid her head against Carmilla’s stomach, trying to even her breathing out. Carmilla had literally kissed her breathless. It was clear that Carmilla knew that just from the smirk that was dancing on the vampire’s lips. But in that moment, Laura couldn’t care less that her body was giving her away.

It was as Carmilla sat down next to Laura, their bodies still keeping contact despite moving positions, that the door of the dorm swung open. LaFontaine was standing there, eyes wide and mouth open as they looked into the room.

“Holy science. You really are alive…er...well, not dead dead.” They blinked once, moving into the room and completely ignoring the fact that Laura and Carmilla were sitting so close to each other, a blush creeping up Laura’s chest and face.

“Yeah, still kicking.” Carmilla’s voice was laced with aggravation and sarcasm. It was obvious she wasn’t pleased that they had been interrupted. A long sigh escaped the thin lips as Carmilla scooted back up on the bed and away from Laura, leaning back against the wall.

Laura looked between LaFontaine and Carmilla, taking note of the very dramatic change of demeanor in the vampire. The freshman licked her lips before looking away from Carmilla and smiled ever so slightly at Laf.

“Dude, how did you make it out of there? What happened after you fell down the hole?” It was obvious that LaFontaine was eager to know the answers, especially since they kept asking questions.

And with each question, Carmilla became more and more tense. Laura could feel the waves of tension just bouncing off of the vampire. Quickly, Laura hopped up from the bed and smiled at LaFontaine.

“I think maybe you should wait to ask those questions. She’s still kind of… ya know, recovering?” Laura gave a shy little smile, hoping LaFontaine would take the hint.

They blinked, eyes flitting to Carmilla for just a moment before focusing back on Laura. “Oh, right. Yeah. I’ll uh… come back later.”

Laura nodded. “Later.”

As soon as Laf was out the door and it was closed firmly behind them, Laura turned to find Carmilla brooding in the corner of her bed. She frowned, approaching the bed with ease. Carmilla didn’t move, just sat with a scowl on her face. That is, until Laura placed her hand on her shoulder and spoke her name. To Carmilla, it was like a beacon of light, hearing Laura speak her name.

“Carm?”

Laura’s voice hit Carmilla’s ears and her body relaxed almost immediately. Dark eyes slipped up Laura’s body, eyebrow raising ever so slightly once they landed on her beautiful face.

“We really have to start locking that damn door.”

* * *

“We didn’t kill it?”

Seriously, Carmilla had gone through all of that heroic crap just to not kill the damn light? Of course not, this was Silas. Moments prior, Carmilla was obliging Laura in telling her “audience” how she had survived. Of course, she hadn’t even gotten through a single sentence before LaFontaine had barged in, looking for that damned Sumerian book. Carmilla’s agitation was clear, even when Laf asked her to find a certain page.

However, the agitation turned to slight panic as soon as the sound of rumbling and distant monster screams shook the Earth. Of course she didn’t kill it. Of course there was still danger at Silas University. Once one is immerses into the supernatural world, it’s practically impossible to escape.

“I have an idea.” Laura’s voice cut through the momentary rumbling, making LaFontaine and Carmilla look towards the girl in question. “We just go. We leave for reading week and we never come back. I mean, we can do that right?” She looked at Laf, pleading and panic in her eyes. “Right?”

It was the best idea thrown out there. Neither Carmilla nor LaFontaine had any other suggestions. And besides, running was what Carmilla was usually really good at. The vampire was actually surprised that Laura had suggested they run, but then again, there was yet a new supernatural something threatening the campus. What better way to escape repercussions than running off?

“I’ll go tell Perr.” LaFontaine was gone and out the door before another word could be spoken.

As soon as the click of the door was heard, both women were up from the bed and grabbing bags. Laura was, obviously, in more of a panic than Carmilla. After all, Laura wasn’t used to running away like this. Not to mention, she probably had planned on packing more things than she probably should.  

Carmilla could hear Laura mumbling and ranting to herself as she packed her bag, shoving things inside as neatly as she could. Of course, even in the face of some sort of disaster, Laura still had the need to be tidy. It made Carmilla smile, albeit a small one, but a smile nonetheless. She knew Laura was panicking, could tell in the way her heartbeat sounded like it was going to fly right out of her chest. It sounded like a hummingbird had taken up residence in her chest. Naturally, the vampire was done packing within seconds. She didn’t really need much, considering they were going to be hiking around Styria. It seemed Laura wasn’t thinking about that though as she continued ranting to herself and placing things in her bag.

The ranting and the mumbling had stopped as soon as Carmilla’s arms wrapped tightly around Laura from behind. Laura’s face became rather hot with a blush when she realized she had not been ranting in her head, but actually out loud.

“Cupcake, calm down,” Carmilla said into Laura’s ear, sending a slight shiver down the girl’s spine.

It took a moment, but Laura felt herself relax a bit and she melted into Carmilla’s arms. However, her heartbeat was still running million miles a minute, as well as her mind. She turned in Carmilla’s arms, facing her head on.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re used to all this. All this… danger and running and…” Her words teetered off at the end, looking up nervously into Carmilla’s eyes. “Fleeing from the campus is not exactly what I thought would be happening,” Laura admitted, shrugging.

“It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.” Carmilla’s words were soft, softer than when anyone else was around. That side of her was something only Laura got to see. Well, usually. Carm did touch her frequently in front of the scooby gang, but Laura thought it was because she was giving off that aura of ‘mine.’ Which was absolutely not something she should be thinking about while they were getting ready to run from campus.

The reassurance in Carmilla’s voice and the conviction with which she said them made Laura melt even further into her girlfriend’s arms. She knew Carmilla meant what she said. The rumbling started again and Laura tensed, making Carmilla wrap her arms a little more tightly around her.

After a few seconds more, Carmilla grabbed the top of Laura’s arms gently and pushed her back just the tiniest bit. “Finish packing. And pack light. We need to leave. Like, five minutes ago.”

Laura nodded, turning to finish packing her bag. There was a smallest hint of a smile on her lips as she finished packing the small bag she had grabbed. Despite facing hiking across Styria, Laura knew Carmilla would keep her safe. It didn’t even cross her mind that she’d have to make up excuses to her dad as she turned to face Carmilla with a look of determination.

* * *

More running. That’s what was happening as they left the Styrian villagers with torches and pitchforks behind. Followed by spending a little more time resting in that diner, after Carmilla had murdered the German lady for Christmas, they decided it was time to move on and find somewhere else to stay. Of course, hiking across the Styrian mountains was a lot easier said than done. Carmilla was doing just fine, of course. Her vampire strength and speed kept her from slowing down even the slightest bit as they hiked up a particularly steep incline. Laura, LaFontaine, and Perry were slowly making their way up the mountain, quite a way back from the determined vampire.

Carmilla stopped to turn around and stare at them, crossing her arms against her chest as she smirked.

“What’s the matter, ginger squad and sidekick? Not what you were expecting when we decided to run from campus?” Carmilla was being sarcastic, finding more joy out of this than Laura probably wanted her to.

The glare sent her way from her tiny girlfriend made Carmilla chuckle just a little bit. She was so adorable when her face scrunched up in aggravation. Laf and Perry were obviously not amused, not even the slightest. They were all heaving large breaths in and out of their lungs, slowing down even further. Carmilla rolled her eyes and leaned against a particularly large rock, looking utterly bored. Amateurs, all of them.

“Excuse us for not being a centuries old vampire who can make everything look so effortless,” Laura shot back, groaning as her foot hit a rock and she stumbled a bit.

Perry turned to help her, red hair flying around her face as her head whipped towards the tiny freshman. Laura waved her hands, managing to pull herself up before anyone could get to her.

“I’m fine. I’m good,” she managed to wheeze out, feeling like her lungs were on fire. Laura was finally starting to regret drinking all that grape soda and eating all those cookies. It definitely didn’t help that she had stuffed her face with gingerbread cookies before leaving the diner. Her logic was that she needed food, that the cookies would give her energy to hike. Yeah, right. She’d absolutely been wrong.

Just a good few seconds after tripping over that rock, Laura found herself tripping once again, but this time it was because of her untied laces. She fell rather hard, bumping her head against the ground. She managed not to make any noises when her temple bounced against the dirt, but tears sprang up into her eyes from the slight pain. Laura moaned, not moving from the ground just yet. The footsteps of Perry and LaFontaine quickly stopped, hearing the dirt underneath their shoes getting kicked around as they turned to find Laura on the ground. They moved her way, but before they could get to her, Carmilla was standing over Laura with her eyebrow raised.

“You okay there, cupcake?” Carmilla asked, bending down to place her hand on Laura’s upper arm.

“Just peachy.” Laura grumbled, scrunching up her face in disgust as she felt dirt sliding against her hands. She could hear Carmila stifle a laugh, which made her shoot a death glare, or attempt at one, towards Carmilla. Obviously it had no effect as Carmilla chuckled a little louder anyway.

However, as the small laughter died down, Laura felt Carmilla grab her arms and help her up. She lifted her like she weighed nothing, but to a vampire that was probably the case. With more tenderness than she’d ever shown in front of Laura’s friends, which Laura thought that she’d perhaps forgotten that the two ginger’s were there watching, Carmilla brushed the dirt gingerly off Laura’s clothes. Dark eyes scanned Laura’s body for anything out of place. After all, Laura had a tendency to get herself hurt in the oddest ways possible. When Carmilla was satisfied that everything was as it should be, she looked Laura straight in the eyes, a look of pure concern etched across her face.

“You want some help getting up this mountain?” The vampire questioned, tilting her head slightly to continue staring into Laura’s eyes.

Laura swallowed, always finding that Carmilla’s gaze had the ability to make her brain fuzzy and her limbs weak. Words escaped her, refusing to come out, even as she opened her mouth. Carmilla’s eyebrows knit together, clearly worried that maybe Laura had given herself some sort of small concussion. The tiny human swallowed once more, biting her bottom lip as she opted to nod her head instead. It was obvious she was not going to make it up that damn mountain without the vampire’s help. It was such a steep incline and her lungs felt like they were on fire.

Carmilla moved to pick Laura up, but the freshman waved her arms in front of her first, making the vampire jump back just a little.

“Wait!” Laura yelped, once more causing Carmilla to look at her like she’d lost it. “I need to tie my shoe first.”

The tension in Carmilla’s body quickly eased as she shook her head, shrugging her shoulders as Laura bent down to tie her shoe. It took her no time at all, her head popping up into Carmilla’s view once more. Laura had a small smile on her face, gazing at Carmilla like she was the best thing since sliced bread. Carmilla looked down at the ground, learning quickly what that gaze usually followed up with.

Laura shuffled forward, bringing their bodies close together, but not quite touching. She leaned forward to kiss her girlfriend on the cheek, grinning widely after letting the kiss linger for a moment.

“Thanks, Carm,” Laura mumbled, just enough for Carmilla to hear.

Brown eyes gazed up at the two red heads staring at them, Laf not even trying to cover up the fact that they were watching. Perry had a small smile on her face, LaFontaine had a full on grin. Carmilla rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“It’s nothing, buttercup,” she mumbled, moving to stand in front of Laura. The human took that cue and hopped onto Carmilla’s back, clinging on like a monkey. “Now let’s get over this freaking mountain so we can find a place to stay for the night.”

At that, Carmilla’s usual broody, vampiric demeanor was back and she briskly started walking up the mountain like she wasn’t carrying a human on her back.

* * *

It took them almost forever, but they finally made it over that mountain. Of course, Carmilla was complaining that they would have made better time if ginger one and ginger two had moved a little faster. They were standing in front of an incredibly beautiful, old mansion as the sun was setting quickly behind them. LaFontaine and Perry were still trying to catch their breaths as they all gazed up at the house. Laura blinked a few times, gazing at the old house with wide eyes.

“This is a really beautiful house.” Laura pointed out, moving forward just a little bit. “Are you sure we can stay here?” she questioned, looking to Carmilla, concern wrinkling her forehead.

“Yeah, it’s fine. No one is coming here, trust me.” Carmilla’s voice was nonchalant, like this was just another day for her. Which, really, in a way it probably was. Running away was her specialty and this time the only difference was she had three humans with her. She couldn’t care less about the ginger twins, it was Laura she was trying to keep safe.

Laura found Carmilla’s answer a little mysterious. She wondered if maybe Carmilla knew the person who owned the house, but it was clear she wasn’t getting any answers as Carmilla left them behind to head towards the door of the mansion. The tiny gay turned to look at Laf and Perry, waving at them to follow as she moved to make her own way towards the mansion.

Without even a beat, Carmilla forced the door open, the heavy wood swinging backwards from the force and crashing against the wall. The vampire turned with a smile on her face, looking at Laura like she was absolutely pleased with herself.

“It’s open,” Carmilla said, smirking wickedly.

Laura rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that they were breaking and entering into a home. Not that it stopped them from breaking and entering into that diner. It was a place to stay for the night, that’s what Laura had to keep telling herself. It was better than sleeping outside somewhere. There was no telling what would happen to them if they even attempted that. But that didn’t stop her from feeling bad about it. It was clear that Carmilla had no qualms over staying here, which Laura tried very hard not to put too much thought  into.

Instead, she walked in through the front door, watching Carmilla as she flicked on a few lights here and there, illuminating the room enough to let Laura see where she was going. Laura turned to look behind her, seeing Laf and Perry not far behind and making their way towards the front door. They looked exhausted and ready to fall down, which really, Laura couldn’t blame them. They didn’t have a vampire to carry them the rest of the way up and down that mountain. As soon as the pair was in the house, Laura closed the door behind them, wincing a little as it made a slight creaking sound before slamming loudly.

“I’ll go find us a room,” Carmilla called from a hallway, but Laura wasn’t able to turn around in time to catch a glimpse of her.

She looked to her friends, smiling meekly at them and shrugging her shoulders. “Maybe you guys should find one, too. You both look super exhausted.” There was a hint of an apology in Laura’s tone, the tone mimicking the look in her eyes. She wanted to apologize, but she wasn’t sure exactly what to apologize for. So instead, she continued smiling.

“Yeah, we should probably find a place to lie down. My… everything… is hurting.” LaFontaine gave a short laugh, looking to Perry with a fatigued smile.

“A bed, yes. That sounds like a good idea.” Perry nodded her head, helping Laf towards a set of stairs, both ginger’s hobbling up them like they were about to collapse.

As soon as Perry and LaFontaine were out of sight, Carmilla reappeared in front of Laura, tilting her head towards the direction she’d come from. “Come on, I found a bedroom for us.”

Carmilla turned, looking behind her only once with a raise of her eyebrow before walking past Laura. Laura followed, surprised to find herself instantly heated by the look on Carmilla’s face and the fact that they’d be sharing a bed together. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, making her scoff at herself. The noise made Carmilla stop and turn towards the her, looking a tiny bit worried.

“Everything alright, poptart?”

The use of a sugary nickname sent Laura’s butterflies into a full on attack and she knew Carmilla could tell something was up, the smirk on her face giving that much away.

“Great. I’m fine. Just, ya know, wanna relax and sit down.” Laura gave a shaky smile, hoping Carmilla would let go of the fact that she was acting awfully nervous all of a sudden.

Laura was relieved when Carmilla shrugged and turned back around, leading Laura to whatever bedroom she’d picked out for the two of them. The vampire stood in front of a rather ornate door, waiting for Laura to catch up. Eyeing the door, the aspiring journalist’s eyes jumped from Carmilla to the door and back. The vampire gave that infamous little side smirk before reaching for the doorknob, leaning her body rather close to Laura’s, and pushing the door open with ease. Laura had to make herself drag her eyes away from Carmilla and towards the open door, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“After you, cupcake,” Carmilla offered, waving her hand towards the entrance of the bedroom.

“Um, thanks.” The small human moved past the vampire, giving a slight smile before stepping into the room.

Laura could feel Carmilla’s eyes on her and she would bet her life that if she turned around, she’d find the beautiful raven haired vampire staring at her ass. Nerves began to make Laura’s stomach tighten once more, so she tried to focus on the room to try to calm down. She heard the door click close as she made her way towards the bed, throwing her bag onto it.

And wow, what a bed it was. Honey eyes went wide, taking in the detail and the expanse of the bed. It was large enough to be able to fit at least five people comfortably. Four posters marked each corner, the wood a very dark brown, finished with a polish. There were elaborate carvings in the wood, making up gorgeous patterns perfectly. The pillows and covers matched the darkness of the wood, as well as the rest of the room. It was the most gorgeous bedroom Laura had even been in or seen.

“Wow,” Laura exhaled softly, eyes still wide.

The freshman moved to sit on the bed, bouncing on it just a little to try it out. It was firm, but not overly so. Laura was so caught up in trying out the bed that she failed to see Carmilla walking closer and closer, dark eyes never leaving Laura’s form. However, the tiny gay quickly became aware that the vampire was awfully close to her, especially as she felt a dip in the bed beside her. Turning her head quickly, Laura found Carmilla was much closer than she had anticipated. A dark blush was creeping its way up Laura’s skin, making the room feel much hotter than it had been just a second ago.

Carmilla was close enough so all Laura had to do was lean forward, just an inch or two, and kiss her, but she was stuck. She was stricken by how beautiful Carmilla was up close. Not that she wasn’t beautiful all the time, but having the vampire so close to her body was another story entirely. Immediately, Laura’s eyes flickered to Carmilla’s lips, her tongue coming out to lick at her own involuntarily. Carmilla, of course, noticed this and gave the most sinful smirk.

Laura thought Carmilla was about to lean forward and kiss her, she even closed her eyes in anticipation, but instead she felt the mattress move again and her eyes opened quickly. Carmilla was up and walking towards her bag that she’d thrown on a chaise lounge. Laura’s eyes fluttered momentarily, trying not to feel disappointed that Carmilla hadn’t kissed her. But she knew that the vampire was probably messing with her, like she always did.

“So, what do you think? Good enough to…” There was a pause, the vampire’s words hanging in the air for a moment, the silence lasting only a few seconds. “Sleep in.” The way Carmilla said the word sleep didn’t make it sound like they were going to be doing that at all. Or maybe it was just Laura’s hormones that were working on her and very quickly.

Laura cleared her throat and nodded, realizing a second later that Carmilla wasn’t looking at her. Duh, Hollis. Use your words.

“Yeah…. uh, yeah. It’s beautiful. Why wouldn’t it be good enough?” Laura cursed the fact that her nerves were giving her away, making her voice quiver just a bit.

Carmilla’s amusement was obvious as she turned, clothes in hand, staring at Laura like she wanted to eat her. “Good.” Was all the only word Carmilla said before she turned towards a door in the far corner of the room.

“Well, I’m going to clean up,” she announced just before disappearing behind the door of the bathroom.

The ‘you can join me if you want’ mostly went unsaid, save for the way Carmilla walked seductively towards the bathroom. She left the door open just a crack, telling Laura that she, in fact, was inviting the girl to take a shower with her. Laura suddenly felt very hot and very anxious, her body heat rising and her heart feeling like it was going to jump right out of her chest. How could she deny her sexy vampire girlfriend the opportunity of showering together? She was sure her heart was pounding loud enough for Carmilla to hear, even over the shower turning on.

Laura’s mind was really reeling, flinging questions and insecurities at her. What if she did something wrong? What if Carmilla decided she didn’t like the way her body looked? Or what if they weren’t compatible in that way? Oh god, what if she did something super embarrassing that just turned Carmilla off in an instant?

Laura could hear Carmilla in the shower, humming some sort of old tune to herself. Laura wanted to be in there with her, but her mind wasn’t cutting off with the questions and her legs wouldn’t move. She willed them to, multiple times, but it was like she was stuck to the bed permanently.

The nervous human didn’t realize how long she had been sitting there, looking utterly pale and ready to run from the room any second. She didn’t realize Carmilla had finished with her shower and was standing next to the bed, just a towel wrapped around her lithe form. Laura was completely unaware of what was going on around her until Carmilla’s clearing of her throat brought her out of her freak out, making the poor girl jump nearly out of her skin.

“Oh, uh…. hi.” Laura smiled nervously, trying not to be a pervert and rake her eyes down Carmilla’s fairly exposed body. It was harder than she anticipated.

“Hey,” Carmilla started, moving closer to Laura, her walk exuding confidence and sexuality. “You didn’t come shower with me.” She pointed out, feigning disappointment. Okay, maybe it wasn’t completely feigned, but she wasn’t disappointed enough to really be bothered by it. Especially considering how utterly nervous Laura looked.

“Uhh… right, about that. I… It’s not that I didn’t want to. That’s really not it. It’s just, I tried to move and my legs weren’t moving and I started asking all these questions to myself and worrying about whether or not I’d be good at anything or if you’d even like what you saw or...”

Laura was promptly cut off by Carmilla placing her fingers over the girl’s lips, pinching them gently between her forefinger and thumb. The cutest little squeak escaped from Laura at that moment, the blush on her cheeks rising to new shades of red. Carmilla was smiling, unable to stop herself from finding this tiny human to be so damn cute.

“Laura.” Carmilla vampire began, smirking while she raised her eyebrows. “Relax. You’re gonna give yourself a coronary.”

Carmilla let go of her lips then, hand moving to rest on Laura’s shoulder, rubbing soothing circles into it. Laura nodded once, looking away from her girlfriend then, trying not to blush even harder. Laura knew she had a tendency to ramble, but god, the things that had just come out of her mouth. And the way Carmilla said her name sent shivers racing across every inch of her skin. The feeling of Carmilla pressing gentle circles into her shoulder did calm her nerves just a little bit.

“Sorry,” the younger girl mumbled, eyes flickering to Carmilla for just a moment, a shy smile on her lips.

She opened her mouth to say more, to explain, but she quickly closed it back when Carmilla scooted a little closer towards her, making Laura super aware that her sexy vampire girlfriend was only wrapped in a towel. That was it, just a towel, nothing underneath but naked, smooth, pale, flawless skin.

And there went all the calm Laura had managed to latch onto. Her heart picked up again, beating against her rib cage like it was tired of being locked up in there. She bit at her bottom lip, hands fumbling with themselves. She could see Carmilla smirking beside her from the corner of her eye. Carmilla had never been this close to her, thighs and hips touching, the vampire still soothing circles into her skin. At least, not when she was this undressed. Laura’s nerves were completely shot and she tried so hard to keep her hands from trembling.

“Do I make you nervous, cupcake?” Carmilla questioned, although it was clear she already knew the answer to that question. She was getting too much of a kick out of this.

“No,” Laura lied, still worrying at her bottom lip.

Carmilla raised a skeptical eyebrow in question, obviously seeing right through Laura’s really bad lie.

“Ugh. Fine.” The younger girl started, throwing her hands up just a little in defeat. “You make me really nervous.” Laura paused, eyes scanning over Carmilla’s body for just a second before switching back to the spot on the floor she had been burning a hole through with her eyes. “Especially when you’re not exactly, you know… clothed. And sitting so close to me. It’s not all about your body, though. I mean, I see the way you look at me when you think I won’t notice. And then you practically invited me to shower with you. It’s not like I get offers like that every day. I mean, I’m not centuries old and an expert at seduction. So yeah, you make me nervous.” Another pause was given, Laura finding the courage to look Carmilla straight in the eye. “But in a good way.”

At that confession, Carmilla’s mouth moved from a smirk into a broad smile. Obviously that was more than what she had expected to hear, confession wise. A few seconds later, the vampire began to chuckle softly to herself, arm sliding down Laura’s arm to place her hand on top of hers.

“Wanna know a secret?” She questioned, locking eyes with Laura. Laura didn’t take but a second to respond with a nod. Carmilla breathed in a deep breath, swallowing hard before answering. “You make me nervous, too.”

“Oh.” The human breathed out, looking surprised. That was not what she had anticipated. “But… why?”

The shock on Laura’s face made Carmilla huff a short laugh. “Because you make me feel things I haven’t felt in centuries,” she started, the feel of confession sharp on her tongue.

This wasn’t like Carmilla, but Laura brought out things in her she was sure had left her ages ago. She knew better than to open up like this because it always blew up in her face when she did. But the way Laura was looking at her, big honey brown eyes gazing at her like she was the light that brightens her day, weakened Carmilla in ways she wasn’t not sure she could even articulate.

So she continued, listening to the thump of Laura’s heart to calm herself down. “Because ever since we first met, there has been something pulling me towards you that I can’t resist. You’re my drug, Laura. And because I’ve never wanted to protect anyone more than I want to protect you.”

So maybe that wasn’t all the reasons, but it was good enough explanation for now. It wasn’t like she could confess everything at once. After all, Carmilla did need to keep her air of mystery somehow.

Laura was silent, Carmilla’s words running through her head at a rapid speed. The vampire tilted her head, watching Laura’s face for any sign of… well, something, anything. She’d been quiet for what seemed like forever, but in all reality it had only been a minute. Carmilla wondered if perhaps she did, in fact, give too much away. But the bit of doubt was driven away as soon as that bright, sun shaming smile broke across Laura’s mouth.

Catching Carmilla off guard, which was fairly hard to do, Laura surged forward to crash their lips together in what started out as a messy kiss. Her lips landed a little to the left, but Carmilla corrected it quickly, their mouths sliding together beautifully. It was a sweet, but greedy kiss, making Carmilla’s skin prickle in the most delightful way. This was perhaps even better than the kisses they had shared after Carmilla was returned to Laura, not dead like everyone had assumed.

With an intake of breath, Laura pulled from Carmilla’s lips, but kept her face close, hand placed gently on the side of the vampire’s head. Their breaths mingled together, Carmilla resting her forehead against Laura’s gently. The hand that Carmilla had lain on top of Laura’s moved to interlock their fingers, making both women smile.

“Kiss me again,” Carmilla said, coming out as half a question and half a demand. After all, she didn’t want to push Laura into anything she didn’t want to do.

Apparently, it was all the incentive Laura needed to press her lips firmly against Carmilla’s once more. Carm hummed against her lips, finding the purest of satisfactions from the fact that Laura deemed her worthy enough to kiss. The vampire moved to press her body flush against her human’s, smirking slightly as she felt Laura shiver.

The towel wrapped around Carmilla’s body came loose then, revealing a bit more skin. For a moment, Laura didn’t notice. She was too wrapped up in the feeling of her lips pressed against Carmilla’s. However, because of her body’s insesent need to require oxygen, Laura pulled back to take in a breath. It was in that moment that her eyes finally lock onto the naked chest being presented before her.

Laura had never been one to objectify a woman’s body, nor was she even one to oggle. After all, she wanted to show respect to all women and not stare at their bodies like men tended to do. But with the smirk spread across Carmilla’s face and the slight chuckle that came tumbling from kiss bruised lips, it was obvious the vampire didn’t mind that Laura was getting her fill of oggling.

“Like what you see?” Carmilla purred, her voice dripping with sexuality as it lowered an octave or two.

That voice sent a cavalcade of tingles and trembles rippling down Laura’s spine. Her mouth had gone completely dry and all words failed her as she tried to drag her eyes away from Carmilla’s marvelous breasts. If she didn’t know any better, Laura would think she was some teenage boy who’d never seen a pair of breasts before. The way she was acting made her feel mortified, but with the way Carmilla was coming onto her made Laura’s mind screech to a slamming halt.

Laura licked her lips, wishing her damn mouth wasn’t so dry. She tried to speak again, but the only thing that came out was the faintest of moans. That seductive smile of Carmilla’s went full force at the sound that escaped from Laura’s mouth, dyeing the poor girl’s body red from head to toe. She wished she could just crawl inside a black hole and pull it in after her. What the hell kind of response was that? However, it seemed to be satisfactory enough for her girlfriend sitting impossibly close.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Carmilla hummed, the wicked smirk never leaving her face.

The vampire moved to be even closer to Laura, making note of how Laura’s heart skipped just a little because of that. Her right hand came up to cup the side of Laura’s face, her mouth moving to her left ear. The tiny gay’s breathing was labored, the force of it blowing Carmilla’s hair back. Her lips were but a mere inch, maybe less, from Laura’s ear and she hummed quietly, revelling in the reactions she was receiving.

“I won’t lie, cupcake. I would very much love to ravish you, but I won’t do anything you don’t want me to.” Carmilla’s voice was low, pure sex. She could feel even more shivers coursing over Laura as the words hit her ears.

It took the poor girl a minute, maybe a little longer, but somehow she managed to find her voice. Albeit, it was low and squeaky, but a voice nonetheless.

“I want you to.” It was all Laura could manage to get out before her mouth became even more dry. She was tongue tied and turned on beyond impossibility. Laura was pretty sure her panties were completely ruined.

Carmilla felt a knot forming in her own stomach when Laura answered her. It seemed to turn her on impossibly more. She had been hoping Laura’s reaction would be positive and for once something wasn’t blowing up in her face. Carmilla could feel her fangs wanting to make an appearance, but with a steely resolve, she kept them away for the time being.

Moving slowly, not wanting to freak Laura out in any way, Carmilla pressed slow, lingering kisses across her cheek. She stopped at the corner of her mouth, placing a sweet kiss there and waiting for Laura to respond. One of Carmilla’s hands was splayed out on the bed just beside Laura’s thigh, the other still cradling the side of the human’s face. She was giving Laura time to back out, to rethink her original answer. After all, she needed to make sure Laura wanted this as much as she did.

Carmilla acquired her answer just seconds later when Laura turned her head to capture her lips in a searing kiss. The vampire felt the pull in her abdomen greatly as their kissing became more heated and messy. Her free arm wrapped around Laura’s back, holding her against her body firmly. The feel of Laura’s clothes brushing against Carm’s naked skin made her shiver, but left a grasping want deep inside her. The need to feel Laura’s naked skin pressed against her own, craving that skin on skin contact more than she craved blood.

With a nip to Laura’s bottom lip, Carmilla pulled back just slightly to gaze into Laura’s eyes, both their pupils blown and dark with want. Carmilla’s hands moved to the bottom of Laura’s shirt, tugging just a little, asking for permission. The younger girl nodded, just slightly, but enough for Carmilla to get her answer. Carmilla’s towel was sliding its way down to the floor, revealing the rest of her body to Laura’s wandering eyes.

The vampire had Laura’s shirt half way up her torso when the door to their room swung open. Laura jolted, head looking towards the intrusion, eyes blinking rapidly so she could focus. When she finally did, LaFontaine and Perry were standing in the doorway. Perry looked absolutely horrified and Laf couldn’t seem to look away from the scene, their mouth hanging open a little. When Perry noticed, she grabbed Laf’s head to turn their eyes away. Perry turned her back, the blush on her skin nearly matching the red of her hair.

A growl rumbled deep in Carmilla’s throat, alerting Laura of the fact that Carmilla was seething and still naked. Laura placed her hand on Carmilla’s thigh, squeezing just a little to get her attention. She got it, Carmilla calming down only a tiny fraction, but that was enough for the time being.

Laura was trying to forget about the fact that she was blushing rather hard and feeling like she was about to pass out. She should have expected to be interrupted, why was it any different than the dorm room at Silas?

With a sigh, Laura turned her head back to her friends, frowning just a little. “Um, what’s up?” She questioned, tucking a bit of her hair behind her ear.

Perry turned her head just slightly, but not enough to actually look at the two still practically sitting on top of each other on the bed.

“Uhm, well… there’s a uh… a slight problem.”

The tone of Perry’s voice made Laura nervous, all the while she could hear Carmilla gritting her teeth together as they waited to hear what ginger number one had to say.

The floor don seemed to still be flustered, but she made it past her stuttering to get the point out. “We should probably leave because we’re pretty sure we heard someone come in through the back door.”

Laura groaned, throwing her hands up in frustration before falling back on the bed. “Great. Just great.”

She didn’t even have the chance to move off the bed before Carmilla was off of her and throwing clothes on. Carmilla grabbed their bags and moved to grab Laura by the hand.

“Let’s go,” she grounded out through clenched teeth, frustration lining her words very clearly.

The last thing Laura thought as they slipped from the house was ‘Well, there goes that.’

* * *

So, fleeing Styria did not go as planned. Not even remotely. All thanks to freak ball blizzards, mad Styrian villagers and other phenomenal catastrophe's, the four had eventually escaped back to Silas. Not what was planned, but at least the campus was safe for now. Getting out of Styria was hard as hell, so moving into some apartment Carmilla scored, thanks to her ability to strike fear into the hearts of men, was the next best plan. Okay, so maybe Laura wasn’t super comfortable with the way her girlfriend had gotten this beautiful apartment, but it was much better than holing up somewhere less nice and comfy.

They all settled in, getting used to their ‘swish new digs.’ The ginger twins actually left Laura and Carmilla alone for once, perhaps setting everything up and unpacking bags. But it was nice to finally sit down and relax with Laura without the science freak and Betty Crocker hanging around. It almost seemed like the two made it a point not to leave them alone. They’d barely had time for each other between fleeing Silas, murdering freaky German ladies and hiking across mountains. The alone time they did manage to get was always interrupted by at least one of the red heads. After leaving the house they’d broken into, nevermind the fact that Carmilla knew who owned that house, they hadn’t even had one second alone together. Carmilla was able to tamp down on her desire for Laura for the past few days, her anger over the situation nearly snuffing it out. At least for the time being. She was going to revisit that scene somehow, even if it killed her. Well, you know, for the second time.

Needless to say, it was more than comforting to be sitting on the chaise lounge with Laura, the small girl’s arms wrapped around her tightly with a smile on those adorable lips. It almost gave Carmilla a sense of peace, but she knew better than to hope for anything.

Laura’s eyes were drooping, the poor tiny human obviously exhausted from hiking yet again over those godforsaken mountains. It was clear that the way Carmilla was rubbing her back and humming softly was sending Laura further into a fitful sleep. Carmilla stopped humming to listen to the slow sound of her girlfriend’s heartbeat. It was even and smooth, bringing a tiny hint of a smile to the corner of Carmilla’s lips. She committed the sound to memory, never wanting to forget it. There was something bittersweet about Laura’s heartbeat. The vampire knew she would outlive Laura, especially since Carmilla had no intention of changing her.

Carmilla knew that one day she’d have to play Laura’s heartbeat in her head, instead of hearing it right beside her. So she listened, leaning her head closer to the sleeping freshman, picking out every little beat for what it was worth. Laura stirred in Carmilla’s arms, the girl adjusting her body more comfortably against Carmilla. It took a few seconds, but she settled down and snuggled deeper into the vampire, clearly content in her position.

Cuddling wasn’t exactly something Carmilla would ever admit to really liking. She’d never really ever given it much thought, not the kind to show weakness like that. In front of Laura’s friends, Carmilla obviously had to keep her aloof attitude for all to see. But behind doors, Laura brought out something in Carmilla that she was sure she’d tossed away long ago. As she looked down at the girl pressed against the side of her body, Carmilla’s knew that Laura had retrieved that side of Carmilla without even really trying.

“You stopped humming,” Laura breathed, her voice dripping with exhaustion.

Carmilla looked down, finding brown eyes gazing up at her sleepily. Even sleep deprived and on the verge of passing out, there was a look in Laura’s eyes that felt so much like home to Carmilla. But it was more than that. It was more than just seeing home in this human’s eyes. It was also the look of adoration lingering there, just behind Laura’s eye lids, like Carmilla hung the moon and the stars. So yeah, maybe they hadn’t been together very long, but there had been something pulling Carmilla towards Laura from day one. She thought she could fight it, thought she could just let things happen to Laura and move on. But dammit, that wasn’t what happened. That dreadful pull of caring kept tugging at Carmilla’s heart like a puppeteer, pulling her closer and closer to the human she didn’t deserve.

The raven haired woman thanked the god she’d never really believed in that this girl was beside her, clinging to her like a lifeboat, as if she’d slip away in the middle of the night. The vampire knew Laura deserved better, but she couldn’t hold off being selfish anymore. Not after Laura had been so happy to see that Carmilla was alive, after jumping into that light and falling towards what she had been sure was her final death. The feel of Laura hugging her, wrapping those arms around her, had brought her back to life with a much stronger feeling than the blood she’d drank had. What a fool she was, falling for Laura like this. However, there was absolutely no stopping it now.

Breaking herself out of her reverie, Carmilla focused back on Laura, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “You were falling asleep. Didn’t wanna disturb you.” It was a lame excuse, Carmilla knew that, but there was no reason to spill her guts on why she had actually stopped humming.

“It was nice.” Laura scooted up a little, moving so she was face to face with Carmilla. “You have a nice voice. Well, what I heard anyway.”

And dammit, there was that sunshine of a smile that always broke through Carmilla’s clouds.

“It’s nothing.” Carmilla shrugged, playing off Laura’s compliment quickly, looking away from her beautiful face before she gave anything serious away. “You should probably try to get some sleep,” she pointed out, looking back down at Laura for just a second or two. “The bed might be better than this chaise though.”

Carmilla tried to get up, removing her arm from around Laura’s shoulders. She was halfway up when Laura’s hand grabbed her wrist, abruptly stopping her. It was funny, actually, how this small human could stop the scary, strong vampire in her tracks by just touching her. Carmilla was not lost on the irony.

“Wait.” Laura began, sitting up quickly, looking a little less sleepy.

“What?” Carmilla questioned, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. She didn’t miss the blush making an appearance on Laura’s cheeks.

“Are you...” The tiny gay paused, looking away from Carmilla and down at the floor, biting her bottom lip. “You’re coming too, right?”

There was something in the way Laura asked, sounding all hopeful and small, that just cut right through Carmilla’s non-beating heart. It took her a second, longer than it should for a vampire, to compose herself enough to answer. She was surprised by the question, but thankfully Laura didn’t seem to notice as Carmilla finished getting up from the chaise.

“Of course, cupcake,” Carmilla assured with a smile, holding her hand out to Laura. “Now come on, let’s get some sleep.”

Laura’s body, having gotten tense just seconds before, relaxed visibly as she took her girlfriend’s hand. There was a smile on both of their faces as they made their way towards the bedroom, hands linked together tightly.

* * *

This was Silas University. Odd things were bound to happen, especially with supernatural things running amuck. But damn it, was a day or two of some peace and quiet too much to ask? Not even one day, twenty-four measly hours, were Carmilla and Laura able to actually relax. The momma bear ginger was shaking her way into their room, covered in blood. Turns out, campus wasn’t as safe as they had thought. Big surprise! Not! According to Perry, someone had killed the newspaper kids and she’d fallen into the blood. The poor thing was more than shaken up about the experience, but Carmilla was more than over it before she was even done with her story. All she wanted was to sit back and enjoy some alone time with her girlfriend. That was it. A simple request by most days. But not at Silas U.

Of course, Laura started asking questions, just like always. That inquisitive nature of hers, the one that nearly got them all killed in the first place, was striking back once more and making an appearance. But that was her Laura. Honestly, the vampire didn’t expect any less, but that didn’t make her feel any better about the situation. Perhaps it agitated her just a little more.

Carmilla knew exactly where the girl was going once Laura figured out there is absolutely no one to call. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Not one single person they could go to about the situation. Sadly, Laura seemed to have the misconception that with Carmilla’s mother gone, things would be better. But the vampire knew better. It was why she was reluctant to come back to campus in the first place. With her mother out of the way, that just left room for something bigger and worse to take her place.

Naturally, Laura and her friends immediately jumped to the conclusion that this was all their fault. Okay, so maybe it was, but that didn’t mean they needed to be stupid enough to go running back into the face of danger. And what did Laura immediately do, seconds after Perry pointed out that the only people who were doing anything about cleaning up their mess were murdered? Volunteer herself and the scooby gang to try and resolve matters. She should have seen it coming, she really should have. This was what Laura was good at, trying to be the hero when she should just leave it the hell alone.

Carmilla tried convincing her. Tried to tell her they could, in fact, run off again. But the resolution in Laura’s eyes, the determination that settled there, told Carmilla that there was no getting through her thick skull. Especially after saying her final words of conviction to the camera for the night.

“We’re staying. We’re solving the murders. And we’re gonna save Silas.”

Fan. Fucking. Tastic.

* * *

Hours later, after the sun had set and darkness had made its presence known, Laura and Carmilla laid in bed, wrapped around each other tightly. However, Laura noticed that Carmilla hadn’t said much since she made the decision to save Silas once again. The younger girl knew Carmilla wanted to just whisk her off somewhere safe, but that was not who Laura was. Despite the million different warnings going off in Laura’s head about all of this, she still pushed through with a steely resolve to do the right thing. She made this mess, she might as well clean it up.

Even though Carmilla had her arms wrapped around Laura, there was an emotional distance Laura could feel. Hell, she could even feel the aggravation coming off of Carmilla in waves. The silence was almost deafening in a way, especially when Laura knew Carmilla was in one hell of a mood now. She had her suspicions on what might be going on in Carmilla’s head, but she couldn’t tell for sure.

As the silence stretched on, Laura adjusted herself so she could look up and see Carmilla’s face. Carmilla didn’t look at her, just seemed to be steaming in her own broody thoughts as stared at the ceiling.

“Carm?” Laura started, voice barely even above a whisper, but she knew the vampire could hear her regardless.

Laura was met with silence, but then seconds later, Carmilla gave a short grunt of acknowledgement, telling Laura quite a bit with just that one reaction.

“What’s the matter?” Alright, so it was a really stupid question, but Laura had to ask. She wanted Carmilla to talk.

“Nothing.” The response came quicker than Laura anticipated. However, it was not exactly the kind of answer that explained things.

Carmilla still hadn’t looked at Laura, obviously still inside her head and brooding.

“There’s something,” Laura stated, moving now to lean up, looking down at Carmilla’s face so she could see her eyes. “You’re being… broody.”

The vampire really looked at Laura then, locking eyes and for just a split second Laura saw some raw emotion there. It quickly disappeared, though, as Carmilla sighed, keeping her hand on the small of Laura’s back. The vampire looked at the action as an anchor of sorts. Laura kept her grounded somehow, even if she was frustrated with her unnecessary heroics. However, there was no response, even as Carmilla continued to gaze into Laura’s eyes.

“Is it because I decided to stay and do what’s right?”

And there it was. The question Carmilla knew Laura was bound to ask her. Her mostly still body stiffened next to Laura, a bit of a sarcastic huff escaping frowning lips. Laura didn’t get it, did she? Well, of course not. She was human, and humans, after all, were children who knew absolutely nothing of the true world lurking around them.

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Laura.”

The way Carmilla said her name, like a prayer and a warning, sent an unwanted shiver down Laura’s back. She ignored it, for the time being, focusing on the conversation she was trying to have with Carmilla. Key word; trying.

“I didn’t know what I was dealing with last time either, but we still survived.” The tiny gay protested, tilting her head just slightly as she continued looking at Carmilla’s gorgeously sculpted face.

Carmilla scoffed, rolling her eyes harshly. “Barely.” She ground out, finding Laura’s statement to be rather unbelievable.

Silence filled the room again and Carmilla’s face contorted into a mask of half anger and half concern. It was disconcerting seeing her like this. She didn’t usually show this much emotion, but perhaps it helped when it was just her and Laura. Laura’s tongue was tied, she wasn’t sure what to else to say. At least, until Carmilla spoke up once more.

“I just don’t…. want anything happening to you.” Ah. So that was the reason for that pained look on her face.

The smallest hint of a smile dimpled the corners of Laura’s mouth. This was Carm’s broody way of telling her that she actually cared about what happened to the her. Which, she pretty much proved that when she came back with that sword and saved Laura and her friends.

Laura moved to really sit up then, dragging Carmilla with her. She scooted a little closer to the vampire, their hips touching as Laura grinned. Carmilla was smiling, if only just a little.

“As long as I have my heroic vampire girlfriend, I should be fine, right?”

Carmilla had to really work to keep the small smile on her lips. She managed to roll her eyes, Laura scooting ever closer to her as she wound her arms around the tiny human’s waist. If that’s what Laura needed right now, well, she could at least try, right? It was not particularly a task Carmilla was thrilled about, but the human wiggling in her arms had the vampire wrapped around her little finger. And very tightly.

She managed to roll her dark eyes though, grinning just a little wider as she realized what Laura was doing.

“You’re killing me, Hollis,” Carmilla mumbled before feeling Laura press her lips firmly against her own.

Before she knew it, Laura was straddling her hips, legs spread to accommodate Carmilla between them. Their kisses continued, starting off languid and slow. The more they kissed, the hungrier they became and the hungrier the kisses became, the louder Laura’s heartbeat in her chest. A ghost of a smirk was appearing on Carmilla’s lips at the sound. It was a beautiful sound and one she was certain she wanted to hear for as long as possible.

Their lips were connected, breathing in each other’s air as Laura wrapped her arms around Carmilla’s neck. Carmilla’s tongue extended out to lick at Laura’s bottom lip. The action sent a shiver through Laura’s body, which made Carmilla’s hands begin to wander down the expanse of Laura’s back.

Perhaps this was the time to pick up where they had left off before. After all, things had ended on a less than satisfying note, leaving the vampire on a bit of an edge. So as Laura left her lips to kiss down her immaculately sculpted jaw, a hum tumbled from Carmilla’s lips and her hands gripped tight to the freshman’s waist.

Carmilla’s hands were beginning to sneak under Laura’s shirt, inch by inch, when someone cleared their throat and made Laura jump halfway off of the vampire’s lap.

“Goddammit,” Carmilla growled, whipping her head towards the intruder. “Get out or you’re going to regret ever being born.” Her tone was low, dangerous and threatening. Any smart person would turn and leave immediately. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happens.

Laura gave Carmilla a side glance, climbing off of her lap entirely, but sitting close to her. The younger girl’s hand lingered on Carmilla’s thigh and the vampire knew it was so she’d calm down. Damn her for knowing that that actually worked. Carmilla relaxed, minimally, but enough to satisfy Laura.

“What is it, Laf?” Laura asked, noticing the panicked look on LaFontaine’s face.

“Yeah, uh, sorry to interrupt, but we kind of have a problem,” they began, actually looking genuinely sorry about yet another interruption. Well… sort of.

“Again?” Laura questioned, letting a sigh escape past her lips. “Of course again. This is Silas.” She sounded exasperated, throwing her hands up in defeat. “What is it now?”

“Well, it’s the Zeta’s and the Summer’s.” Laf’s tone implied the ‘yet again.’ “Well, those flaming arrows have come into play.”

Laura’s shoulders sank and a sound of disgust was made. “Great. Of course they couldn’t lay off those.” With a sigh, the freshman stood from her spot beside Carmilla, looking down at her vampire girlfriend with a frown.

Carmilla didn’t even have to hear Laura vocalize her question. She could see it in her eyes. That determination.

“Right. Yeah. Go. Save the campus. I’ll be right behind you.”

* * *

“Race you.” Just a whisper. Right next to Carmilla’s ear. But then Laura was racing off, giggling as she put distance between her and Carmilla.

Carmilla turned her head to look at the camera, still running of course, finding it incredibly cute that Laura thought she can beat her. It took but just a second, the smallest of seconds, for Carmilla to appreciate the situation that Laura had presented to her.

Not even bothering with turning off the camera, Carmilla slipped from the chair and was gone in an instant. She could hear Laura’s footsteps still carrying her quickly, as quickly as a small human could run, towards the wine cellar downstairs. However, before Laura could even reach the door, Carmilla was leaning against it, arms folded against her chest.

“Going somewhere?” The vampire asked, raising her eyebrow seductively and finishing off with a rather dirty smirk.

Laura gasped, clearly not having anticipated this, and tried to stop abruptly. It didn’t work, however, because she nearly crashed into her girlfriend’s body. Carmilla was quick to react, however, and stopped her by grabbing her biceps, keeping her still as she looked into Laura’s beautiful eyes.

Without even thinking about it, Carm leaned forward to connect their lips in a sweet, sultry kiss. It was a slow kiss, but it was sizzling hot. Carm’s lips felt like smooth satin moving against her own and Laura’s body immediately reacted. The tiny gay’s body temperature rose exponentially, the kiss making her head swim just a little bit. When their lips finally parted, Laura was breathing a little heavier and there were goosebumps covering her body.

Forever the collected one, Carmilla hid the fact that her body had been set on fire by that kiss as well. Laura was a damn good kisser. And even that was putting it as an understatement. There was a shit eating grin plastered on Carmilla’s face as she watched Laura lean against her, trying to recover from her hazy mind. A low chuckle rumbled in the vampire’s chest and throat.

“Doing okay there, cupcake?” Carmilla inquired, wrapping her arms around the young girl’s waist.

It took Laura a moment, but she grinned lovingly up at Carmilla and nodded. “I’m fantastic. That was… some kiss,” she confessed, blushing just slightly.

Carmilla loved the way that blush lit up Laura’s face in ways she couldn’t seem to find words to describe. It was so distinctly Laura and Carmilla found herself falling even further for the human snuggled in her arms.

“You think that was good, buttercup, wait until we really get started,” the vampire bragged, wiggling her eyebrows provocatively.

Laura opened her mouth to say something, grinning from ear to as the blush increased on her cheeks, but all that came out was a squeal. Before Laura could get even a syllable out, Carmilla was picking her up bridal style and whisking her towards the solarium upstairs.

The freshman was a little disoriented when Carmilla finally set her down on her feet, but kept a grip on her just in case. Laura swayed just a little bit before regaining her balance and looking up at Carm.

“What about the wine?” Laura questioned, tilting her head just slightly.

“That can wait.” Carmilla’s tone dropped an octave, dipping sinfully low and making the girl shudder delightfully. “Right now…” Carmilla continued, placing her lips beside Laura’s, painfully close. “I’d rather. Eat. You. Up.” The vampire’s teeth, fangs still safely tucked away, nibbled on Laura’s earlobe between words for punctuation.

“Oh god,” Laura moaned, feeling her legs weaken and her heartbeat quicken. It was thunderous in her ears and she blushed when the thought of Carm hearing it crossed her mind.

“Mmm, not quite, poptart. But I will have you praising me like your life depends on it.” Carmilla gave a dirty grin, pulling her face away just enough to look Laura straight in the eyes. “I can guarantee it.”

The knot that was forming in Laura’s stomach from the moment Carm kissed her by the cellar door was tying itself even tighter at the vampire’s words. Only this time, she felt a familiar tug of arousal dipping below her panty line. Laura was certain that if her panties weren’t ruined by now, they were about to be. Just the look Carmilla was giving her was enough to make her breathless and increasingly wet. Coupled with her words, well, Laura was futile to resist.

Carmilla practically oozed sexuality. It was in the way she carried herself, the clothes she wore, the tone of her voice. There was nothing about Carmilla that didn’t give off an air of pure, unadulterated raw power and sex. It was more than a little intimidating to be facing that, Laura thought. But the way Carmilla was looking at her, like she was the most beautiful and sexiest woman she’d ever seen, made Laura quiver. If looks could make a girl come… Laura would be immediately done for.

The vampire’s gaze was heavy and Laura had to look away, trying to compose herself enough so she wouldn’t end up screwing something up. However, her head didn’t stay turned for long because a second later, Laura felt Carmilla’s forefinger tucking under her chin. Her eyes met Carmilla’s once more and Laura gasped inaudibly. She didn’t think the hunger for her in Carmilla’s eyes could be any more intense, but she was wrong. Carmilla’s eyes were dark as the pitch, pupils blown wide. Laura noticed, a second later, that Carmilla’s fangs had made their appearance.

She breathed in a deep breath, a purr settling in her chest. When she let the breath out, Carmilla shuddered visibly. Laura almost giggled at the fact that Carmilla was purring, but before that noise could make its way out of the girl’s mouth, Carmilla was speaking and making Laura feel even more weak in the knees. And, if possible, even more aroused.

There was another moment or two of silence as Carmilla opened her dark eyes once more. Laura was speechless, aroused beyond anything she’d ever known. It almost looked like Carmilla wanted to drink her blood. Laura was surprised to find that this thought was somewhat appealing to her. She didn’t voice it though, instead she moved a little closer to Carmilla, trying to get rid of the nerves that were making her hands shake.

“Do you have any idea how irresistible you are, Laura?” The human girl’s name came out almost like a prayer, partially like a moan.

The sound, and hearing Carm say her name, made Laura’s clit twitch. She tried to speak, but all that came out was a squeak as her mouth hung open slightly.

“Let me show you?” Carmilla requested, holding Laura’s gaze.

The air in the room changed after a second though, the look on Carmilla’s face switching from devastatingly sexy to deadly serious in half a second. The raven haired woman was suddenly very serious, straightening up as she leaned away from Laura. “Only if you’re sure. I won’t do a thing if you don’t want me to.”

Even being a centuries old bad ass, Carmilla knew consent was a must. She wouldn’t touch Laura, as much as she wanted this, if Laura said no. The vampire pushed down the vulnerability that clawed at her chest, waiting patiently for Laura to answer.

It felt like a million years before Laura finally did answer. In reality, it had only been less than a minute.

“I want this,” Laura breathed out with a confirming nod.

Carmilla let out an unneeded, yet necessary breath. It was shaky and Laura saw just how vulnerable Carmilla was deep down. Seeing the tiny bit of vulnerability, Laura felt herself become a little more confident. She wanted to show Carmilla that she had nothing to be vulnerable about.

That seductive ‘I’m going to devour you’ look came back in an instant though, practically bringing Laura to her knees. Which really wasn’t an unpleasant thought. Carmilla, however, had other plans.

Trailing a single finger from Laura’s clothed shoulder, across both collar bones, and ending at the tip of the other shoulder, Carmilla gazed up from under her eyelashes with a smoldering look.

“This needs to come off.” Carmilla’s tone was husky and demanding, sending tingles trailing over Laura’s skin.

Before Laura could respond, though, Carmilla brought her arms around Laura, one hand laying on her waist as the other came up to pinch at the zipper of her dress. Slowly, agonizingly, Carmilla pulled the zipper down. Laura was breathing heavily, staring at Carm’s face like she was seeing the face of a goddess. The vampire turned her head just slightly to capture Laura’s lips with hers. It was at this point that Laura remembered that she needed to breath. She sucked in a breath, barely breaking the kiss between them, and felt like she had died and gone to heaven when the zipper reached its end.

Carmilla was gentle as she slid one shoulder of Laura’s dress down, moving back from her girlfriend with a look of adoration and desire. When their eyes meet, Carm saw the same look reflected in Laura’s. It sent a thrill exploding throughout the vampire’s body, monumentally thankful and grateful that Laura had deemed her worthy enough to give her the opportunity to show how she really felt. Carmilla knew she was lucky to even be in Laura’s life. There was nothing Carmilla had done to deserve the woman standing in front of her, but somehow fate decided to give her this opportunity anyway. And she was certainly not going to take this moment for granted.

Bringing her hands up to grab the sleeves of Laura’s dress, Carmilla pulled down gently and let Laura help her slide the garment off her body. Laura wiggled, pulling at the bottom of the dress and trying her hardest to ignore the butterflies going berserk in her stomach. Her nerves were frazzled and her hands were shaking, but there was no way she was stopping this now. The want and need was clawing at her and she was sure she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to.

The dress was off and pooling on the floor around Laura’s feet a second later, revealing the freshman’s body to Carmilla’s wandering eyes. The vampire drank Laura’s body in, committing the sight to memory. Laura was even more gorgeous than Carmilla imagined. Her skin was smooth and toned, but in a subtle way. Carmilla knew if she reached forward and placed her hand on Laura’s stomach, she’d be able to feel the muscles hiding underneath the flawless skin.

Swallowing hard, Carmilla cut her eyes back to Laura, who was blushing brightly underneath her gaze. It brought a smile to Carmilla’s lips, finding this girl and her blush so endearing. Though Carmilla had never believed in god, she thanked whatever deity that might be out there that she had an angel living amongst her.

“You’re so beautiful,” Carmilla rasped, arousal deepening her voice further, dark eyes scanning over Laura’s half naked body.

“T-thanks,” Laura stuttered, gazing around the room and blushing from head to toe. Not exactly what she had meant to come out of her mouth, but it worked for now.

Carmilla smiled, grabbing Laura by the waist and walking her backwards towards the chaise. The cold of the chair hit the back of Laura’s legs, making her shiver. The vampire lowered them both down, laying lower back as she crawled on top of Laura. Carmilla leaned on one hand, not putting her full body weight on Laura just yet. She smiled down at the woman underneath her, placing a chaste kiss to her lips before lowering herself down completely.

The stars had been forgotten about, for the time being. Besides, Laura was much more appealing to look at. At least, that’s how Carmilla saw it. The stars couldn’t compare to Laura’s beauty, on the inside or the out. The sun looked shameful against her smile. Everything that was considered beautiful in the world was nothing compared to the frustrating human that was looking up at Carmilla with a bashful, but watchful, eye.

Carmilla broke from her reverie after a moment, realizing she had been staring at Laura for a bit too long. Laura’s hand touching her own hand resting on her stomach was what brought her back down to Earth. The vampire was quick to get back to her exploration.

Moving Laura’s bra strap aside, Carmilla kissed at Laura’s collarbone, tongue coming out to slide across sweet skin. If Laura tasted this good at her collarbone, then Carmilla knew that she was going to be irresistible in other more erotic places. That thought alone spurred Carmilla on.

“May I take this off?” Carmilla questioned softly, batting her eyelashes at Laura with a wicked grin.

Laura nodded, unable to find her voice as she swallowed against a dry throat.

There was no hesitation as Carmilla reached around Laura, arching so the vampire had access to her back, and grasped gently at the clasps of Laura’s bra. She kissed a line down the middle of Laura’s chest, smiling slightly at hearing Laura’s heart so close. It was thumping rather erratically.

The clasps were freed within seconds and Carmilla slid Laura’s bra off to fling it behind her, not giving a care where it landed. Her eyes never left Laura, never swayed from the beauty that was so freely being presented to her. A gasp escaped Laura’s lips as Carmilla leaned her head down to kiss just above Laura’s nipple. Her mouth was so dangerously close to those hardening peaks and Laura shuddered involuntarily.

The tiny human was so beyond turned on that she was sure there was no saving the panties she was wearing. She tried swallowing again, her mouth and throat so dry that when she tried to speak, all that came out was a small squeak. So Laura cleared her throat and tried again, trying to make eye contact with Carmilla.

“Carm. Please. Just touch me,” Laura begged, feeling like she was about to explode.

Carmilla gave a throaty laugh, looking up at Laura from underneath her bangs. “As you wish, cupcake.”

There was only a second where nothing happened, the anticipation almost too much, but Laura cried out when Carmilla’s mouth latched softly onto her nipple. She could feel the vampire’s tongue lick over the rosy bud, making it tighten further, if that was even possible. Laura arched off the chair, hand coming up to slide into Carmilla’s hair. She clutched the raven locks in her hand, pushing Carmilla’s face into her a little further.

Carmilla took the hint and sucked a little harder as her left hand wandered to the other breast. She swiped her thumb over Laura’s peak, eliciting yet another gasp from the girl. There was a wicked grin dancing on Carmilla’s lips as she enjoyed herself, wanting to hear Laura make more of those delicious noises. Better yet, hear her moan her name. That would more than make her night.

So Carmilla tweaked Laura’s nipple firmly, but gently, rolling it between thumb and forefinger. Laura arched a little more, a small moan escaping her lips. The vampire pulled on Laura’s other nipple with her teeth, letting it go with a pop as she started to hover over Laura. And with no small amount of grace, Carmilla sat up and swung her leg over Laura, comfortably straddling her girlfriend’s hips.

Immediately, unable to keep herself from doing so, Laura’s hands moved up to grip Carmilla’s hips. It was a sight to see, to be holding Carmilla above her that way. Her breath caught in her throat and Laura found herself speechless. At all angles, Carmilla was a portrait of breathtaking beauty. But this angle in particular, with Carmilla staring down at Laura with seduction eyes and straddling her, was by far Laura’s favorite so far.

Grabbing the bottom of her shirt, Carmilla pulled upward on the fabric until it was sliding up and over her head. Laura’s eyes were instantly moving to stare at the expanse of skin that was being given for her to view. She licked her lips, biting her bottom lip as Carmilla reached around to unclasp her bra. Laura forgot about the garment completely after it disappeared from view.

There was a half naked Carmilla straddling her and Laura felt like she was going to spontaneously combust right on the spot. God, how did she get so lucky to have someone as gorgeous as Carmilla be interested in her? Though it was a good question, it wasn’t going to get any speculation in the moment because Carmilla was leaning down and sucking on Laura’s bottom lip, torso pressing against torso softly.

Laura could feel Carmilla’s nipples brushing against her own, shooting electricity through her body with a jolt. Carmilla nipped at Laura’s bottom lip with a smirk before kissing her way slowly, tortuously, down Laura’s body. Wide eyes watched as Carm’s head retreated downward, making her way towards Laura’s panty line. If Laura thought her heart was beating loudly before, it was nothing compared to how it felt when Carmilla skimmed her lips across her waist line. She was pretty sure her heart stopped beating for at least a second or two.

Unable to hold back any longer, Carmilla hooked her fingers at the top of Laura’s panties, her eyes following the trail she’d taken down back up to Laura’s eyes. The vampire was asking for permission with those dark eyes of hers, licking her lips and breathing Laura in as she waited patiently for an answer.

“Yes,”  Laura breathed. It was barely audible, Laura unable to really speak, much less make her brain put together a coherent sentence.

With Laura’s whispered permission, Carmilla ripped apart Laura’s panties and tossed the ruined fabric off to the side somewhere. Laura was so far gone that she didn’t even care that she had just lost a good pair of underwear. Oh well.

Carmilla’s eyes left Laura’s face then, working down Laura’s body until she reached the destination in which they both wanted Carmilla to be. The vampire settled in between Laura’s legs, the girls center so close to her face, taunting her. The vampires sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes and purring as Laura’s scent filled her nostrils. She smelled so sweet, so enticing. When Carmilla opened her eyes again, her pupils had gone completely black with desire.

Laura’s lips were swollen and her clit peaked out from underneath its hood, begging for attention. She glistened against the bit of light that was bouncing around the room. Carmilla had never been so hungry before, even compared to when Laura and her friends had her tied up for nine excruciating days. But this was a different kind of hunger. This hunger encompassed her entire being, called out to her, pulled at her heart and her clit at once. It was a desire and a need that she could not ignore.

Extending her tongue, Carmilla flattened it out and swiped it up and between Laura’s inner lips. Laura shuddered and moaned loudly, her hand tangling in the vampire’s dark locks once more. Carmilla grinned and continued, proud of herself that she already had Laura unravelling for her, swiping once more before opening her lips with her forefinger. Being that close with Laura, that intimate, sent a jolt to her own clit. However, she ignored her own needs for the time being to satisfy Laura’s.

Using her tongue again, she flicked lightly at Laura’s swollen bud, but not enough to give the right amount of friction. Laura squirmed, clearly needing and wanting more.

“Carm. Please.” Laura’s voice was strangled, desperate. She needed Carmilla more than she needed oxygen.

Carm said nothing, only went back to lick at Laura’s clitoris again, this time with more pressure. It elicited a strong moan from the tiny human, making her lift her hips up for more attention. Unable to hold herself back anymore, Carmilla closed her mouth around the throbbing bud and sucked gently.

“Fuck!” Laura screamed out. It was unlike her to curse, but the way Carmilla was pleasing her was more than enough to make her use them.

This spurred Carmilla on, hearing Laura vocalize her pleasure as she grabbed at the vampire’s hair with both hands. Laura rolled her hips, asking for more without words. So, like the gentlewoman she was, Carmilla gave her girlfriend exactly what she was asking for.

Carmilla was hyper aware of her fangs, the pair having protruded due to her aroused state, and she scraped one ever so gently over Laura’s clit when she detached her mouth from it. The sensation made Laura jump, releasing her hold on Carmilla’s hair for just a moment. However, her hands were digging back into black hair once more as Carmilla’s tongue licked up and down her throbbing bud.

Moving to make herself more comfortable, Carmilla grabbed Laura’s thighs and pushed them apart, opening Laura up to her even more. Without hesitation, the older woman dove in again, practically burying her face into Laura’s heated core. Carmilla could live there forever, feasting on Laura like that. She could stay there forever and be completely content.

Laura was beyond being able to control her actions then, rolling her hips and moaning so loud that she was sure the whole apartment could hear. Neither of them could care less though as Carmilla’s assault to Laura’s clit continued. Laura was moaning the vampire’s name like a mantra, feeling Carmilla do something with the tip of her tongue that made the human feel like she’d died and gone to heaven. Carmilla was sucking and licking on her clit simultaneously, making Laura’s mind spin and her vision go blurry.

However, despite all the pleasure Laura was receiving from the attention on her clit, it was nothing compared to what she felt when Carmilla slipped a talented finger inside her.

“Oh…. oh fuck!” Laura cried out, finding herself in a rather euphoric state. Her grip in Carmilla’s hair had tightened quite a bit, nails digging into the vampire’s scalp, but Carmilla wasn’t complaining.

The older women curled her finger upwards, searching for the rough patch she knew was there. When she found it, Laura’s moans became increasingly loud. She extended her finger and slid out, then slid back in and curled once more, repeating the process several times. Carmilla was driving Laura crazy and that was exactly how she wanted it.

“More.” Laura begged. The word sounded a bit strangled, but Carmilla understood.

The vampire had a mind to make Laura work for it, beg for it, but then she thought that perhaps she could try that another time. So with a wickedly sexual smirk, Carmilla slipped not one, but two more fingers into Laura’s entrance.

Carmilla was gentle at first, letting Laura adjust. But as soon as Laura started moving her hips again, Carmilla was curling her fingers yet again and pumping into Laura with rapid succession. She attached her lips to the throbbing bud once again, sucking on it harder than before. Laura was writhing and moaning, almost screaming, above her. It made Carmilla feel that familiar pull of need in the pit of her stomach. She continued to ignore it though, not even caring about herself until Laura was utterly spent.

So the vampire continued the assault of Laura’s clit, switching between licking it and sucking on it, fingers still working on the elusive g-spot. She could feel Laura beginning to tighten around her fingers, indicating that she was very close to falling off of the proverbial edge. It was all the incentive Carmilla needed to pump her fingers faster, suck a little harder. Laura was pulling on her hair painfully, but Carmilla was so focused that she barely even noticed.

Laura’s thighs began to tremble around Carmilla’s head, her breathing stopped and she tensed, thighs slamming shut and trapping the vampire’s head between them. It didn’t deter her from continuing though. Carmilla carried on, pumping against Laura’s sweet spot and licking at her clit with a sense of duty. After a moment, as Laura was clenching tightly around Carmilla’s fingers, her loudest moan yet ripped from her throat in the form of Carmilla’s name.

And the moaning of Carmilla’s name continued as the vampire brought Laura down from her high.

As Laura fell to pieces underneath her, Carmilla was more than positive that this was what dreams were absolutely made of.

* * *

Carmilla and Laura laid naked together in bed, wrapped firmly around each other. After a second round in the solarium, they managed to make it back into the bedroom, messing up the perfectly made sheets. Not that they really noticed how well the bed was made. They went another two mind blowing rounds before actually settling down.

Laura was still trying to catch her breath, lost in the euphoric feeling of ravaging each other for so long. The covers were on the floor and Laura clung to Carmilla, arms and legs wrapped around the vampire as Carmilla leaned her head against her chest. The older woman’s arm was lying on top of Laura’s stomach, stroking her thumb over the expanse of skin as she listened to Laura’s thudding heart. It was her most favorite sound in the world.

Aside from Laura coming undone with Carmilla’s fingers buried inside her, the vampire knew this was her favorite spot to be. Just laying there, listening to Laura’s heart as it slowed down, listening to her catch her breath. She was the happiest here.

Carmilla leaned her head up, slithering up Laura’s body to give her a few quick kisses. Laura kissed her gently, a small smile on her lips. They continued giving each other sweet kisses, hands still rubbing naked skin. Carmilla was more than content, lying in the bed completely naked with Laura, not a care in the world. She was trying to start another round up, finding that she couldn’t get enough of Laura, but just as the kisses really get heated, the sound of their door opening broke them from their little world.

The vampire growled, sending LaFontaine a glare that could have possibly killed them on the spot if that were possible. Laura clambered off the bed, trying to grab the covers to hide their naked bodies. She was blushing, not able to look Laf in the face.

Laf looked away, trying not to gawk at the naked bodies in front of them, feeling kinda bad that they had interrupted yet again.

The science major opened their mouth, scratching the top of their head. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but…”

Their words were cut off quickly, unable to get an actual apology out. Carmilla was yelling, throwing whatever she could find at LaFontaine.

“Get. Out. Or I will end you.” She threatened, making Laf blink and retreat backwards as Carmilla’s naked body stalked towards them.

Carmilla vaguely heard Laura calling after her, but it was the hand that stopped her from advancing towards LaFontaine anymore.

“Um, Laf, just uh… give us a minute. We’ll be down momentarily.” Laura looked at LaFontaine, pleading with her eyes to get out before Carmilla lost it anymore.

The last thing the pair saw before their door was shut was LaFontaine’s retreating form.

* * *

Things seemed to really take a turn for the worst after their little “stargazing” moments. Carmilla had thought things were fine, that perhaps things would settle, but that wish did not come true. She should have known better. After making love to her girlfriend multiple times the previous night, her luck had run terribly cold. Not that it had been awfully good to begin with. So much for the small amount of perfection they were having.

Laura was officially freaked out about the fact that Mattie had arrived. Anxiety getting the best of her as it was revealed that she was Carmilla’s sister, that she wanted to kill Laira and she mentioned Carmilla being in love with her. Absolutely no one was saying anything about love. Except Mattie, of course. There was so much going on in Laura’s head. Mattie had Laura’s mind reeling, nerves getting the best of her. Laura was relieved that Carmilla was willing to step up to Mattie and keep her from murdering her. Since that seemed to be what Mattie initially came to Silas for. Though, Laura was wrong, for the most part. It was not the only reason Mattie had come.

Laura was still jumpy, though, and every little slam of the door or odd sound had Laura jolting. Also, hello insecurities. The lovely new sister vampire had put Carmilla and Laura’s relationship under a spotlight of sorts. And she was trying to burn the hell out of it. Mattie also let slip that they were staying in Carmilla’s mother’s apartment. Definitely not okay.

That conversation was an odd one. Laura was miffed Carmilla hadn’t told her the truth about the apartment. But despite the fact that Carmilla lied to her, Laura was more stuck on the point that they were staying in the dean’s apartment. That was all sorts of wrong.

“It’s the dean’s apartment. We have been sitting in the dean’s chairs. We’ve been eating off the dean’s table. We’ve been…. Oh my god, we’ve been sleeping in your mother’s bed. Ugh!”

That was another thing entirely. Laura was literally freaking out because they’d had sex in the dean’s bed. The thought made her shudder. The things they did in that bed. Multiple times, at that. Not to mention the solarium. The tiny little fight between them, if you could call it that, played over in Laura’s head. All the way up until they were interrupted for the millionth time. There was no privacy in the apartment, clearly. Laura was surprised no one ever walked in on them during the act. Though as she thought about it, they probably had heard them. Neither of them were exactly quiet when it came to sex. That thought made Laura blush profusely.

Later on, after things had sort of settled down, Laura was thinking about what Carm had said in defense of Mattie.

“We’re vampires. A certain amount of murder just comes with the territory.”

That sentence did not sit well with Laura, not at all. She hated that Carm just looked over the fact that Mattie was a murderer and probably murdered those poor newspaper kids. She kept forgetting that Carm had murdered people as well. That was not a thought that crossed her mind, Laura was just trying to process the entire day. That was a feat all on its own. She felt so exhausted as she slumped into bed that night.

Carmilla tried to comfort Laura. Tried to get her to see that Mattie wouldn’t do anything to her as long as she didn’t get in her way. Or as long as Carmilla defended her. It killed Carmilla that she felt so torn between the two. Who knew Mattie was going to make an appearance. Not Carmilla, that was for sure. What broke her heart more was seeing Laura jump at every little sound. If they are in separate rooms, Carmilla could hear Laura’s heart sound faintly like a freight train going full speed against her ribs, and all because a door was slammed.

So as they laid in bed, both avoiding any form of talk they really should have been doing, Carmilla wrapped her arms around Laura and let her girlfriend snuggle into her side to bury her face in Carm’s neck. As Laura drifted off to sleep, Carmilla felt a sense of dread filling her. This wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

As the days went on, things started to have a bit of a snowball effect. Mattie showing up was aggravating enough, her presence and the fact that she was the chairman of the board had Laura wanting to fight the good fight and find out what Mattie was doing. Carmilla was pulled into this, naturally. She was hoping Laura and her friends would realize Mattie was Carmilla’s sister and that the vampire wasn’t going to choose sides, but that seemed to be too much to ask for.

They had Carmilla spy on Mattie. Of course, Mattie saw right through the whole damn charade. Mattie pointed some things out about Laura that Carmilla was trying to fight against, to ignore. Things she already knew but didn’t look too closely at. Laura always looking at what’s right and what’s wrong. Completely ignoring that there would possibly be gray areas. Carmilla knew Laura only saw the world in black & white, but she tried so hard not to think about that. Mattie was right, Carmilla did need this relationship to work. Not just wanted, needed. After all, she did kill their mother for Laura. Laura and no one else. Mattie’s words were stuck in her head though, swimming around, pissing her off. Mattie was right. She was almost always right. And that was what bugged Carmilla the most.

“The dark beauty of the world’s rotting core.”

There it was. The reason Carmilla didn’t deserve Laura. The reason she was trying to forget. Naturally, Carmilla defended Laura. She had to. She cared about Laura and if she didn’t defend her to Mattie, then her sister would go after her once more. As long as Mattie understood that Carmilla would’t budge, Laura would be fine.

Laura heard the whole conversation though. Appearing after Mattie left. She didn’t handle it very well. Neither of them did. Unfortunately, they both had poor communication skills and neither actually sat down to talk things through. Instead, they ran off to take care of yet another Silas University problem. There was something inside of Carmilla that told her she should have grabbed Laura and sat her down to talk. Should have made her sit down and listen, but old habits are hard to break and Carmilla had never been any good at expressing her feelings.

Carmilla knew things weren’t as they should be. Especially after their little excursion had gone wrong. Laura was pushing Carmilla more, wanting her to doing something about all of this, do something about Mattie. But god, she was already in a bind as it was, being in between Laura and Mattie. The love of her life and her sister. The entire situation was bringing about more problems than Carmilla ever cared to face. Carmilla couldn’t seem to catch a freaking break.

Despite being at odds and not talking about the very obvious issue, they still slept in the same bed together. Unfortunately, Carmilla still felt a distancing starting between them. Already, Carmilla felt conflicted, torn, heartbroken over what could possibly happen if Laura kept pushing. Either way, she needed Laura to calm down before things got worse.

As they laid tangled together, darkness surrounding them, Carmilla listened to Laura’s breathing and held onto her tighter. She opened her mouth a few times, wanting to start the conversation they both needed to happen, but the words never came. What could she say, really? What could she possibly say to convince Laura that what she was doing was a bad idea? Exactly what could she say to convince her girlfriend to quit pushing her in a direction Carmilla wasn’t comfortable with? And even if she did find the words, how would it all end? how would Laura take it? In either scenario, Carmilla knew it wasn’t going to end well.

* * *

“It would just be you and me in love.” Carmilla was serious about running away with Laura, even if she did phrase it as “Can we just pretend.”

It made Laura’s heart quicken, hearing Carmilla mention being in love, but she was talking about running away all in the same sentence. Laura couldn’t do that, not again, and she made that clear.

“But our friends need us.”

Right, ‘their’ friends. Honestly, they were all really only Laura’s friends. To Carmilla, they were all just nuisances.

“We wouldn’t even be me and you anymore. We’d just be empty shells that ran away.”

The vampire saw that coming, of course, but she had given herself a sliver of hope. That was the worst thing she could do because, of course, that hope was crushed to pieces. Carmilla knew how Laura saw her and she couldn’t see the vampire’s true monstrous nature. There was not much to say after Laura had shot her down, so Carmilla wrapped her arm tightly around Laura and went back to reading her book. They were quiet for the rest of the night. Sure, they should talk about the tension and issues between them, but did they? Of course not.

Carmilla was as affectionate with Laura as she always was, especially when they went to bed. Despite feeling like things were crumbling, and quickly, she still cared about Laura more than anything else in this god forsaken world.

She wrapped herself around Laura and stroked her skin, reveling in the way it felt to be this close to her girlfriend. Carmilla stayed that way for hours because she didn’t know if it was going to be this way for much longer.

They made love that night, getting lost in each other and their bodies, shutting out the world around them. Perhaps it was the wrong thing to do, ignoring what was going on for a time, but it was the only solution Carmilla had. She needed to show Laura how much she loved her before she lost her. And Carmilla knew she would lose her. Too much wasn’t being said and Carmilla was too frightened to say what was on her mind. So she put her mouth to use in a different way and hoped like hell, for the millionth time, that things would find a way to correct themselves.

 ****  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Yes, Carmilla did say she would be whatever Laura needed. She did say that. But they had all gone too far. It was this particular day, after the shit hit the fan some more, that Carmilla found herself in a spot she never wanted to be. A spot she never asked for. And why the hell would she? The dimwits had no idea what they were asking of Carmilla.

She was done. So far beyond done, honestly. Done with Laura trying to continue making her the hero. The last straw was Laura trying to convince her to go toe to toe with Mattie on the board by being the student representative. The vampire couldn't do that. Carmilla didn’t have it in her and she didn’t care about the rest of the school enough to actually want to do it.

Carmilla had finally decided to have a backbone and stand up to Laura and her friends. Shocker.

“No.”

It was short and to the point, but she was not about to betray her sister. Clearly Laura wasn’t expecting that response from Carmilla, but that’s exactly what happened. A fight started that Carmilla should have seen coming a mile away. They didn’t talk, really communicate, like couples are supposed to do. That was their first mistake. The first of many. And oh the mistakes Carmilla had made.

Everyone cleared the room. Well, almost everyone. Danny hung around by the stairs, but Carmilla completely ignored her. If she didn’t ignore her, well, then her anger would not be as controlled as she needed it to be. Especially with Laura in the room.

Laura was sitting across from her, tears starting to form in her eyes. Carmilla felt a tear in her heart and tears prickle at the corner of her eyes.

“What am I supposed to think when you’re all ‘caring about other people who aren’t us is stupid, poptart,’ and ‘Remember that time we ate half of Saigon. Fun times.’”

Carmilla could almost, just almost, hear her non beating heart shatter just a little bit more. It burned in her chest, agonizingly, as she stared back at Laura. God, she really didn’t get it. Laura didn’t understand a damn thing. What a fool Carmilla was to think things could actually work out with the two of them.

“That’s part of who I am, Laura. So is Mattie. You can’t expect all of that to just evaporate because I love you.” Carmilla was trying really hard not to cry. Vampires didn’t cry. Even if their dead hearts were breaking.

The vampire was a little surprised at herself for telling Laura so blatantly that she loved her, but she had been wanting to do so for so long now. She was an even bigger fool than she initially thought. Not to mention she’d let her love be known and the worst time possible.

So, there was that confession. Carmilla was hoping beyond all hope that Laura would say it back. Was praying to a god she didn’t believe in that things could take a turn for the better. However, Laura clearly was surprised Carmilla had said it. The look on her face said it all. There was shock in her teary eyes and it nearly broke Carmilla in two. Her dead heart ached horribly. Laura was starting to cry a little more then and it was breaking Carm’s heart more than she was willing to admit. She didn’t like seeing Laura cry, especially if it was because of her. But Carmilla wasn’t fun when she was backed into a corner. Carmilla was vicious and dark and Laura had to see that.

“If you really loved me, then you’d stay. I need you to be the kind of person that helps fight.”

Carmilla’s face scrunched up into one of pure pain. The pained look on her face, however, did nothing to mirror what was going on with her internally.

Don’t cry. Just… don’t fucking cry. That’s what Carmilla was telling herself as Laura’s words hit her ears. Yet another crack in that unbeating heart of hers.

After clenching her jaw tightly, trying to reign in her anger, Carmilla let her words far harshly from her mouth.

“You haven’t listened to a single word I’ve said.” There was silence, and that was when the ball really dropped.

Carmilla wasn’t able to take this anymore. There was heartbreak and pain in both of their watery eyes, but Carmilla couldn't take this anymore. As much as it felt like she was suffocating, like someone was ripping at her insides with a chainsaw, the next words from her mouth had to be said. There was no other choice.

“I’m done.”

The vampire was up from her seat and walking quickly and angrily out of the door. She didn’t even give Xena a passing glance as she exited the apartment.

It was as Carmilla walked away that Laura really began to panic. Her heart squeezed, broke and then shattered. Her stomach dropped and she shot up from the spot she was sitting in.

“Carm. Please. Carm.” Laura felt her world shattering around her, breaking into tiny little pieces that she was sure she was never gonna be able to pick up, at least not fully.

Camilla almost stopped and turned around, with the way Laura was begging, but she didn’t. She couldn’t be who Laura wanted her to be and couldn’t betray her sister. Laura was asking far too much of her. The tiny, aggravating human that Carmilla felt so much for was so naive that she didn’t see why what she was asking of Carmilla was wrong.

Carm was gone, leaving Laura alone with Danny. She could hear Laura crying and when she stopped to look in the window, Danny was holding her. Jealousy flared up in her chest, burning red hot. But she couldn’t go back in. There wa no way they could work if all Laura wanted to do was change her. That last little bit that her heart needed to break happened quickly as she turned from the apartment and walked into the darkness. It wasn’t easy for her to do that, but she was absolutely done. Done with being a pawn and not being exactly what Laura desperately wanted her to be. If she hadn’t changed by now, there probably wasn’t going to be any change any time soon.

Despite walking out on Laura, she stayed near the house, watching over her. She couldn’t seem to really leave her. There was always something pulling her towards the tiny ball of frustration. She hated seeing Laura cry, but at least she knew she was not the only one who had a broken heart. However, the fact of the matter was, Carmilla couldn’t stay away. She was too addicted to Laura, cared too much to truly walk away. She contemplated leaving, taking off like she was infamous for doing, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Not while Laura was still intent on doing something about Mattie.

Carmilla waited until the next day, which was actually harder than she had made it look, but she went back to the apartment. In spite of the romantic ideal Laura had set up for Carm in her head, the vampire returned to watch over the one human that mattered to her. Of course, she didn’t give away that she was there for Laura. No, she couldn’t do that.

Naturally, Danny was there with her, but she cleared out quickly. Good. She didn’t want to deal with the tall oaf anyway. Laura, however, stayed in her spot next to the chair, looking genuinely surprised.

Their little banter with each other resulted in Carmilla’s jealousy coming out just the tiniest bit. It was clear neither of them were going to budge. Carmilla and Laura were far too stubborn for that. There was a massive amount of tension between them, filling up the room and nearly suffocating them both. This had become a very royal mess, but it was a mess Carmilla was willingly subjecting herself to. She could have left, could have gone out of the country completely, but her feelings kept her from doing so.

Instead, her feelings for Laura put her in a situation she was sure would drive them both up the wall. So much for sanity.

“Dream on, creampuff. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Well, neither am I.” Laura wasn’t budging. She had nowhere else to go.

“Fine with me. There’s plenty of space.”

There was plenty of space for them both in the apartment, of course, but it was going to be one hell of a ride living with the ex. Ex. That word left a horrible taste in Carmilla’s mouth.

It was awkwardly silent between the two of them for a moment, Carmilla gazing up at Laura from beneath her eyelashes. Laura stood with her hands on her hips, clearly trying to not glare at Carmilla, but she was failing.

“Whatever. If we’re going to be staying here together… as exes… then there needs to be some rules laid outj” Laura said, turning her head slightly towards the vampire with a determined look on her.

A mirthful laugh escaped Carmilla as she tilted her head back, amused. “I don’t think so, cupcake. You know I don’t really do rules.”

The vampire raised her eyebrow in challenge, smirking cockily up at Laura. It was clear she was getting to the human because Laura let out a frustrated groan and threw her hands in the air.

“You’re insufferable.” Laura turned to walk away, muttering under her breath. Carmilla was fairly sure laura was calling her names as she walked away towards the bedroom.

Oh yes, this was going to be so much fun.

* * *

Now that there was cohabitation going on with exes, Laura began noticing the horrible side of Carmilla again. Clothes were strung everywhere, hair inhabiting almost every surface. Even used pads and tampons were left out for all to see. Used blood bags, too. Carmilla dressed and undressed in front of Laura and her friends. She had done it several times, not having any qualms over it.

Carmilla was trying to annoy Laura, trying to see how much the human had really missed her. She had to miss her at least a little bit, right? Whenever Carmilla was near, her heart sped up and the vampire had to smirk about that. Laura was putting up a good front, a damn good front, but her heart was what had been giving her away. Carmilla saved the poor thing any more embarrassment though and didn’t bring that little fact up. She knew that while Laura was putting on her game face and dealing with Carmilla in weird ways, she was still pining after her. She could feel Laura’s eyes on her sometimes, catching her now and then. A blush would always grace Laura’s beautiful face when she was caught staring. Which, of course, only frustrated Laura further.

It was different at night though, when Laura slept. Carmilla’s broody manner fell away and a deep sadness took its place. At night, she watched over Laura. Well, when she’s not out living it up with Mattie. Of course, what Laura didn’t see was Carmilla being mopey around Mattie and Mattie trying to cheer her up. Carmilla was hurting in ways she didn’t even dare express, especially in front of Laura. Hell, even with moping around Mattie, she still didn’t let her see all the wounds this entire thing was causing.

But when Carm was in the apartment and Laura was lost in sleep, she watched out for her and had a tendency to watch her as she slept. It was a habit that was apparently determined to stay with Carmilla. It was something she did without really even thinking about it. She watched and kept Laura safe, feeling her insides twist a little more in agony over the entire situation.

At times, when she felt extra lonely by herself in the living room, she adopted her panther form and curled on the floor beside the bed. She always fell asleep to the sound of Laura’s heart beating steadily.

However, when Laura was awake, it was another story entirely. Her demeanor always took a one hundred and eighty degree turn.

Being on odd terms, if you could really even call it terms, with Laura’s ex was...well, odd. Nothing had prepared either of them for the impending argument and sexual frustration that would explode in their faces.

Carmilla was leaving things lying around for Laura to trip on and she had been doing this every day. Laura, being the clumsy dork that she was, tripped over a pair of lacy panties that Carmilla had thrown haphazardly on the floor.

The frustration started deep in her stomach, making her blood boil. Laura knew Carmilla was doing all of this just to get on her nerves. She had probably even been doing it to try to make Laura leave the apartment. Laura wouldn’t put it past her to do such a thing, but the tiny gay was just as stubborn as Carmilla was, so she refused to budge.

Laura had been mostly keeping her comments and backlashes to herself, but as she sat on her knees, looking around the trashed room, she felt herself losing more and more of her control. Unfortunately for Carmilla, she strolled in at just the right (or wrong) time.

The freshman’s eyes were brimming with frustrated tears, head whipping up to look fiercely at Carmilla. The vampire blinked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

“Making yourself comfortable on the floor with my clothes, creampuff?” Carmilla asked, walking further into the room with a spiteful smirk on her lips.

That was all it took for Laura to really lose it. Just that one sentence for something in Laura’s brain to snap. She clenched her jaw tightly and curled her hands into fists, glaring a hole through the vampire standing over her.

“Don’t ‘creampuff’ me, Carmilla. I am so sick of you leaving everything lying around so I can trip on it. What is the matter with you? Are you so hell bent on torturing me? This is just ridiculous. If you were aiming to piss me off, then congratulations, you’ve done it. I’ve had it up to here with your disgusting habits, Carmilla. Seriously.”

Carmilla blinked, somewhat taken aback, but the smirk stayed in place. She hadn’t anticipated Laura bursting out like that, but the way her face was scrunched up was absolutely adorable. One side of Carmilla wanted to apologize while the other side of her wanted to continue pushing her buttons. Naturally, Carmilla picked for pushing Laura’s buttons. It’s a defense mechanism, of course, to cover up how badly she has been hurting.

“Wouldn’t be so bad if you weren’t so clumsy, cupcake. You don’t have to come in here if my mess bothers you that much. Simple.” Carmilla shrugged her shoulders, leaning against the archway.

With only a minimal amount of obstacles catching her, Laura pushed herself up from the floor and kicked at Carmilla’s dirty clothes. A few tampons went skittering across the floor, obviously having been hiding underneath the dirty clothes. Honestly, Laura didn’t remember Carmilla being this disgusting.

The tiny human’s face went red and her hands clenched further.

“Your mess isn’t condensed to just one room. You leave things everywhere. You don’t clean anything, you leave your hair clogged in the drain. God, Carm, you freaking leave used tampons lying around. You’re disgusting.”

Laura sounded like she was at the edge of her rope with Carmilla’s antics, but that didn’t stop the morbid side of Carmilla from continuing her nonchalant, ‘I don’t care’ attitude.

“If it bothers you that bad, just leave. Nobody is making you stay.” The vampire gave the girl a pointed look, staring at her from underneath her lashes, eyebrow still raised.

Laura threw her hands up dramatically, exasperated and feeling like she was going to cry. She kept telling herself not to as she took a few more steps towards Carmilla.

“We talked about this. I’m not going anywhere. All my stuff is here. You’re the one who came back.” She poked her finger at Carmilla, jaw clenched. “You’re the one who decided to barge back in here and be disgusting and frustrating and…and…”

She sputtered to a halt, unsure of what else to say. There were too many words swarming around in her head to really make sense of it all. Too many emotions to try to keep in check.

Laura wanted to sound accusational and mad about Carmilla coming back, but she just couldn’t cut it. Despite all the chaos, she was actually glad Carmilla came back. Well...sort of. Glad in the sense that maybe there was still a bit of Carmilla that still cared, despite walking out for a small amount of time.

Carmilla’s eyebrows were knit together, watching Laura as she poked a finger out at her almost menacingly. Almost. Laura was too cute to really be any kind of menacing.

“You’re cute when you’re mad, sweetheart.” The vampire taunted, smirking even wider.

Laura was unable to bottle her anger any longer. Not that she was bottling it a few seconds ago, but Carmilla’s words and the way she said them, coupled with that signature asshole smirk she loves to give, really set Laura off. She was a volcano erupting, tears spilling from her eyes and her face turning more red than before.

“Ugh! God! You are the most infuriating, useless vampire I have ever met. Why do you feel the need to torture me. I’m not going out of my way to make you feel all frustrated or pissed off. I am so tired of your crap, Carmilla. You need to get out. Out, out, out!!” Laura’s voice raised a few octaves, sounding almost shrill by the end of her sentence.

She was inches away from the vampire at this point and she watched as Carmilla clenched her jaw.

“I told you, I’m not going anywhere. This was my mother’s apartment, I have a right to be here. I’m here to stay, sweetheart, like it or not. I’m. Not. Going.”

Laura nearly growled, lip curling up in anger. “Yes. You are.” She ground out from between clenched teeth.

Carmilla looked Laura dead in the eye, not budging at all.

“No.” That was quickly becoming a word Carmilla used frequently with her, unlike before.

The tiny honey blonde pushed her finger into Carmilla’s chest then, losing her mind entirely by trying to provoke a centuries old vampire. When Carmilla didn’t move, Laura pushed at her shoulders forcefully, but the vampire stayed stark still.

The chuckle that fell from Carmilla’s lips made Laura feel like her head might explode from anger.

“Shut up! I want you to go, Carmilla.” Not really, but Laura was angry beyond measurement and she was so far past tired of Carmilla’s crap. “Stop shoving everything in my face. You’re the one who left. You’re the one who broke it off. At least Danny was there to comfort me and actually try to help, unlike you.”

It was a really low blow, Laura knew that, but her anger was making her somewhat irrational. Carmilla’s smile dropped instantly and turned into an indignant frown. Of course Laura knew her weak spot. Even though Carmilla acted like she didn’t care, Laura had caught her glaring at Danny from across the room a number of times.

“Oh yeah? Well, maybe you should finally give in and fuck her then. Let her know how much you appreciate her being your hero.” There was that green eyed monster rearing its ugly head again. Damn. So much for composure and acting disaffected.

Laura sucked in a sharp breath, eyes going wide at Carmilla’s words. It was enough to make her bring her hand up and smack Carmilla across the face. She struck her as hard as a tiny human like Laura could. Laura was lucky her hand didn’t break, but it still stung.

It didn’t hurt Carmilla too much, of course not. It hurt Laura’s hand more than anything, but Carmilla was still somewhat startled.

The freshman finally looked Carmilla in the eyes again, finally noticing the sexual energy that had been consuming them over the last few minutes. It felt like a dam was breaking around them, flooding feelings through them that they weren’t prepared to feel today. But it was too late. Carmilla’s eyes had gone dark and so had Laura’s. Dark with want.

The vampire pushed forward and locked her lips with Laura’s in a hard, unrelenting kiss. Laura was taken by surprise, but it only took her a second to respond to Carmilla’s insistent lips.

Laura’s hand snaked up to grab hold of Carmilla’s hair on the back of her head. She squeezed tightly, pulling Carmilla’s head back. The vampire hissed, delighting in the pain that burned through her scalp. There was a voice in the back of Laura’s head that told her they shouldn't be doing this. That this was a really bad idea and she should just stop and step away right now.

However, that was the exact opposite of what Laura Hollis did. Instead, she held on harder and continued to keep her fingers tangled in Carmilla’s hair while her other hand came up to grip at the moon phase shirt her ex was wearing. She bit at Carmilla’s bottom lip, trying to pour out all her anger into what they were doing.

Carmilla welcomed the pain, knowing that she deserved all the anger Laura was taking out on her. She deserved it and she took it willingly, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t giving any of it back. Laura thought she was dominating the situation, but she wasn’t. And Carmilla was more than prepared to show her that.

When their lips finally parted, Laura leaned back to look at Carmilla. There was something in her eyes that she couldn’t quite place, but there was definitely tension building there. There was something feral, something dark and intimidating. It made Laura shiver and gasp, but instead of pulling away like she knew she should, she pressed in closer to Carmilla and fisted both her hands in the vampire’s shirt.

The older woman grabbed Laura’s fists and turned them quickly, shoving the tiny ball of sexual rage against the wall next to them. Laura was taken by surprise, eyes opening wide as a rush of air expelled from her lungs. She blinked, her brain trying to figure out how they were switched so quickly.

Carmilla smirked, removing Laura’s hands from her shirt, holding them with one hand, against the wall above Laura’s head. The smaller girl squirmed, trying to get loose from the vampire’s hold, but it was of no use. Carmilla had an iron grip on Laura’s hands, and besides, she was much stronger than Laura.

With a surge forward, Carmilla attached her lips to Laura’s neck and sucked hard. She knew it was going to leave a mark, but that was why she did it. Even if they weren’t together, Laura was still hers. And perhaps this was her way of getting some anger out as well.

Laura moaned above her, unable to keep herself in check. It was almost an angry moan, like Laura was ashamed of the fact that this was turning her on. This, of course, spurred Carmilla on even further. She let go of Laura’s hands, stepping back to admire the lovely bruise she’d left on the small freshman’s neck. It wa oddly satisfying to see it there, to know she did that to Laura.

Laura was taken aback by the sudden coldness that spreads throughout her body when Carmilla stepped away. Her eyes popped open quickly, watching Carmilla admire her handy work. It sent a shot of electricity straight between Laura’s legs. She opened her mouth to say something, but she had no time to say it as Carmilla placed her hand on her mouth.

“Shhh,” was all Carmilla said and it made Laura scowl. The raven haired woman, naturally, smirked.

The hand on her mouth moved after a moment, but Laura barely had time to catch her breath. She was picked up and carried off rather quickly. Before she could even blink, she was thrown on the bed, vaguely hearing the door shut and the lock click in place.

Carmilla’s face popped above Laura’s head, her broody expression back, but mixed with pure arousal.

“Stay,” she demanded, glaring at Laura before moving away and scrummaging under the bed for something.

Laura was more than surprised at herself when she actually listened to Carmilla. There was still anger pumping through her veins, but she wondered what Carmilla was looking for underneath the bed.

The vampire moved  out from her spot by the bed quicker than Laura’s eyes could pick up and before the tiny human knew it, Carmilla stood naked above her. Laura’s eyes flickered down to Carmilla’s hips and she gasped audibly at the sight she beheld.

With a rather smug looking facial expression, Carmilla stood above Laura with her hands on her hips, looking proud of the phallic object hanging between her hips. Laura’s eyes went wide and she looked to Carmilla just as the vampire popped the button on her jeans and ripped them down her legs.

“You want angry sex. You’re getting it, creampuff,” Carmilla prodded, voice husky and low.

Laura was unable to stop the want that flashed in her eyes. She always wanted Carmilla, that had not changed, but she was so sure she’d never get to have her again. This wasn’t a mend to things, not even remotely, and that angered Laura more. She tamped down on that warning voice in the back of her head once more as Carmilla roughly removed her shirt and tossed it somewhere behind her.

Her bra was next to go, lost in the clothes piling on the floor. She tried to move up on the bed when Carmilla grabbed her by her hips and tossed her forward, crawling after the girl as she landed. In one swift motion, the vampire flipped her ex girlfriend over so she was on all fours.

It was a sight to behold, looking at Laura bent down and exposed in front of her like that. Carmilla licked her lips and pushed Laura’s legs a little wider, scooting up behind her and positioning herself properly. When she was perfectly aligned with Laura’s entrance, Carmilla leaned down over the girl’s body and grabbed her hair, turning her head slightly and placing her mouth next to Laura’s ear.

“Buckle up, creampuff,” she husked, biting Laura’s ear lobe before pulling back, but keeping her hand in Laura’s hair.

Laura felt the cold tip of the dildo poke at her entrance and it made her shiver violently. Carmilla used her other hand to grab it and swipe it up and down through Laura’s swollen lips. She was making sure to get the phallus nice and wet with Laura’s own juices, making it easier to enter the girl spread before her.

When Carmilla finally pushed in, a gasp and then a moan escaped Laura’s lips. As easy as it was for the vampire to push into her, it made Laura feel embarrassed. Her cheeks reddened considerably and she hid her face in the covers below her. It was obvious she was turned on and needy, but being so open and ready for Carmilla, when they were supposed to not be touching each other, was something that made Laura feel both abashed and hungry for what was coming.

There was only one warning from Carmilla as she thrust her hips once, just hard enough for friction. But as soon as Laura relaxed, the vampire brought a whole new meaning to the phrase doggy style.

The vampire’s right hand gripped Laura’s hair while the other gripped her hip, pulling the younger girl back onto the dildo. Laura enveloped the phallus and the sight brought a shiver racing down Carmilla’s spine.

“Just fuck me already,” Laura demanded, turning her head to look at Carmilla with a clenched jaw.

Carmilla raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else as she swung her hips back and then forward again with force. The vampire set her pace, quick and hard, pushing into Laura with vengeance. The hand in Laura’s hair grabbed tighter as she pumped rapidly, filling Laura up like she had never been before.

A growl ripped from Carmilla’s throat as she fucked Laura harder, fingers leaving Laura’s hair to scratch roughly down the girl's smooth back. Laura didn’t just moan, she screamed. She pushed herself back onto the dildo like her life depended on it. Carmilla was hitting all the right places, just as she always did, but rougher than she ever had before. She was aggressive and possessive, primal hunger radiating off her in waves. Laura knew she would be feeling this for the next week or so, but she couldn’t bring herself to care much as Carmilla began thrusting hard against her g-spot.

This wasn’t the sex they’d had before. Before, they made love, kisses tender and hands soft. No, this was angry sex. This was emotions stripped bare. It was carnal, blackout inducing fucking. Carmilla was relentless in her pounding into Laura’s soaked, awaiting entrance and she wasn’t going to stop until they’d both fucked the anger out of each other. Maybe not completely, but close enough.

Needless to say, it took quite a while. There was more anger wrapped up in their bodies than they had realized. Carmilla never gave Laura an inch of a break from the pounding, never let up until she had Laura trembling like a leaf underneath her. She rubbed persistently against Laura’s clit, make the young woman shake even more from her touch. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, toes curled and fingers gripping tightly at the sheets below them.

It was Carmilla’s name that ripped from Laura’s throat as an orgasm overtook her body, making her tremble and her muscles lock, clenching around the dildo buried inside of her.

Carmilla pulled out of Laura and stepped off the bed before Laura even realized what was happening. She was barely even down from the high of her orgasm before she actually noticed Carmilla was leaving the room.

Laura huffed, smacking her hands down on the bed in frustration.

No, this did not change things. In fact, it possibly made them more complicated. They barely talked after that, but Carmilla continued her game of pissing Laura off. It was back to the same old thing, only with the embarrassment of angry sex added into the mix. Great.

However, the pair were in for a surprise as things began to become increasingly more complicated.

* * *

So much for acting like she didn’t care.

After hearing, slightly, about Laura’s plan to put Vordenberg into power, Carmilla felt that sense of dread growing inside of her build to something even more awful. There was something shady about the old man and Carmilla didn’t understand why no one else could see it. The debate was about to begin and Carmilla was unable to hold herself back. So she tried to reason with Laura, showing her the side of herself that did still care.

“Look, I may not know what you’ve got up your sleeve, but are you sure you wanna do this? There are a lot of things worse out there than Mattie.”

That was Carmilla’s way of subtly slipping in that she knew there was something up with Mr. Burns. However, Laura completely saw right past it, the obvlious human that she is, and went all snark town on her former girlfriend

“Gee, Carm. Thanks for the input. But since you don’t want to play the hero, maybe you should just butt out as we save ourselves.”

Of course that was Laura’s response. Carmilla wasn’t surprised over the reaction, but it still hurt nonetheless. The curtain was pulled in front of her face before anymore can be said. Things went by fairly quickly then. Vordenberg was put into power and Mattie, naturally, lost her temper.

“I bet it’s going to be pretty upsetting for the folks at home when I pull you apart like a kid with a barbie.”

Carmilla had to step in at that point. She couldn’t let Mattie kill Laura. Even though her heart had been dead for quite some time, it still felt like it was beating too fast as she moved to protect Laura. So her facade slipped, yet again, quickly down the drain once Mattie decided she was going to kill Laura right in front of the camera. Despite Mattie being her sister, she couldn’t just sit back and watch her kill Laura. She still cared more than she could ever articulate. After all, she had come back to the apartment and hadn’t fled because she wanted to make sure Laura was safe.

“Mattie, no!”

Mattie was honestly surprised after hearing all that whining and moaning Carmilla had been doing since the two fell apart. She was surprised her sister was stopping her. Anger coursed through her veins in contempt.

“Are you seriously not done with this gnat? She’s a stupid, callow girl, and she’s going to get us all killed.” Then Mattie was giving her signature screech and was gone in a blink.

Laura didn’t even thank Carmilla for saving her. Which she should have honestly expected, but the fact that they all started partying over Vordie kicking Mattie from her seat as Board Chair, well, that was just in bad taste.

However, after their little bout of celebrating, things went wrong very quickly. Just as they always did at Silas U.

Laura thought she was doing the right thing. She knew Vordenberg would get the win, but she didn’t anticipate what would happen after he was placed into power. So, Laura’s plans went horribly wrong, as usual. She thought she was doing a good thing, finding a way to make Vordenberg the chairman. But holy hufflepuff was she wrong.

“And as first act as reigning Board Chair, I hereby order the immediate detainment of all individuals known or suspected to be...vampires!”

Oh…shit. Okay, so that did not go exactly as Laura had planned.

Carmilla was surprised and not so surprised all at the same time. She knew the old man was suspicious, knew he had something up his sleeve, but she did not expect it to be that. Although, thinking on him and his family history, she really should have been this coming.

So much for sitting comfortably in Mother’s apartment.

And what did Laura do, immediately? Protest. It was what she was good at, apparently. Vordenberg had to mention Carmilla feeding on girls in public. And what does Laura do? Defend her. Carmilla couldn’t have that. Couldn’t have that innocence defending her for the bad things she had done and would probably always do. So, Carmilla stepped in. She could defend herself. With a steely resolve, Carmilla rolled her shoulders and placed that cold mask back on before speaking up.

“You know what, creampuff, don’t do me any favors. If Mister Burns here wants to see out of control, I’d be happy to oblige.”

They wanted violence, she would give it to them. Carmilla hated that she had to disappear, leave Laura in the apartment with the ridiculous scooby gang, but how was she going to protect her if she was being detained? She wasn’t. However, that wasn’t how it looked as Carmilla walked from the room, leaving everyone to deal with their consequences.

She was ranting to herself as she fled from the apartment, wanting to immediately find Mattie. Carmilla had to make sure she was alright, even if she was rightfully pissed off at her. She had to find Mattie and then find a proper hiding place. Mattie would want to leave, probably, but Carmilla couldn’t. Laura was still in that damned house with that old man and there was no way she was completely leaving the stupid girl all together.

If Carmilla was right, he’d be gunning for them too, eventually. Which meant she had to stick around, but only for Laura. Not that she was about to let any of them know that. No, instead, she would bribe Mattie into a little fun of terrorizing the students around campus. They thought she was a monster, then she sure as hell was going to show them just how much of a monster she could be.

So as Carmilla stalked across campus, a dark smirk fell across her lips. That was going to be fun.

* * *

Remember that snowball starting to really roll? Yeah, it was getting bigger. After Carmilla stormed out, Vordenberg took immediate action. The Summer’s and Zeta’s were rallied as troops, all gathering together for a good ol’ vampire hunt. But there was something wacky going on with the two houses.  Just regular humans couldn’t fight off vampires and detain them, that was practically impossible. There had to be something Vordenberg had done to them to make them capable enough to carry out his wishes for vampire detainment.

Laura felt horrible about the entire thing. She had never meant for things to work out like this. With Vordenberg or with Carmilla. She missed Carmilla. Missed being civil with her and falling asleep in her arms. There was so much she missed, but she wouldn’t admit it to anyone. Especially with how Carmilla had been acting. Laura had no idea how or what to feel. She was worried about Carmilla to the point of exhaustion.

As she talked to her camera, her audience, she had no idea what was marching towards her door as she worried herself to death over the events of Silas.

Meanwhile, as Laura sulked, things were hurtling even more downhill. Carmilla was out, stalking souped up hench bro’s with Mattie. They were just having a little fun, doing what vampires do, but unfortunately those bro’s led them into a trap. The vampires were so close to grabbing the men and draining them when things went absolutely wrong, and very quickly. They didn’t see it coming when arrows started raining down on them.

Carmilla quickly morphed to her cat form, dragging Mattie across campus to try to keep from arrow’s hitting her. But of course, an arrow had to hit her and land straight in her chest. A little too close to her dead heart for comfort.

And where’s the place Mattie had to haul her to? To Laura. It was simultaneously the place she did and did not want to be. For a million reason, all of which she kept to herself.

Laura was more than just surprised when they crashed in through the door, but then her heart stopped for a moment when she saw Carmilla was hurt. Shit. Just great. She got hurt, just like Laura didn’t want to happen. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest and panic settled in. What if Carmilla died? God, the regrets she would have if she did. She had to save Carmilla. Somehow, some way.

Carmilla was snarky when she finally realized where she was, but deep down she had been happy that she was near Laura. She didn’t even feel Laura move away from her, barely heard her arguing with Mattie. She was trying to keep herself awake, trying not to feel so much pain. It wasn’t working.

Laura argued with Mattie, trying to get her to agree to some things before she found Carmilla some help. She hated she was letting Carmilla sit there and suffer, but she needed Mattie’s word first. She needed to know that no one else was going to get hurt. Absolutely needed to know her friends would be okay while the vampire’s stayed in the apartment. Especially if Mattie was going to be there. Laura had to make sure.

Thankfully, Mattie agreed, not liking being backed into a corner, but wanting to help her sister.

Satisfied that Mattie would keep her word, Laura ran off to find LaFontaine. They could help. They would know what to do.

Carmilla didn’t even hear the others walk in. She just knew Laura was sitting behind her, holding onto her. The vampire vaguely felt the tiny blonde there, holding her, rocking her. It was soothing, the way Laura rocked with her. Carmilla was hurting so much and losing the blood she’d drank earlier in the night. All that Carmilla could feel was pain. Nothing new, feeling pain, but this time it was actually physical.

Laura threw their differences aside for the time being, unable to not show that she cared about what happened to Carmilla. It was obvious from the way she was reluctant to let go of Carmilla when Laf helped the vampire up and hauled her to the couch. She wanted to help, but there was nothing she could really do. She was just thankful Mattie had decided to bring Carmilla to her. The freshman was even more thankful that Laf managed to get the arrow out of Carmilla’s chest.

A weight was lifted from Laura’s shoulders, but moved to her chest instead. Her heart hurt, watching Carmilla suffer like that. It pissed her off and broke her heart seeing the blood coming from the hole in her chest, spread around the rip in her shirt. There was a feeling of revenge that seeded itself inside Laura in that moment. She wanted nothing more than to hurt those that had hurt Carmilla. Of course, Laura couldn’t do that. It went against everything she stood for.

The freshman lifted her head to stare at Carmilla. At least she was back in the house and she wasn’t dying anymore. For that, Laura was thankful. Relief flooded her as she tried to push away the rest of her conflicting feelings.

However, despite the small moment of relief, the shit storm didn’t stop there. Laura’s relief was soon taken away, abruptly, when Perry marched back in to inform her that stormtroopers were coming.

* * *

Carmilla could hear Laura and Danny talking. It was eating her up inside, hearing their conversation. That jealousy, like before, burned red, hot and horrible in her chest and Carmilla felt like she couldn’t breathe. Not that she had to, being a vampire and all, but old habits die hard. Laura was defending her again and Carmilla sighed. Always defending her. Hell, they were always defending eac h other, no matter what they put each other through. But it still didn’t ease the fact that Laura was up there with Danny all alone while she was trapped under the floorboard with Mattie.

“I swear to god, if they don’t stop with their shit soon I’m ripping my way through this floorboard,” Carmilla growled, banging her fist against the floor below her.

Mattie let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Kitty. I hate it here as much as you do, but this is our only choice right now. And you need to get over Laura. Your whining is starting to agitate me.”

Carmilla shot her sister a glare, ignoring J.P. on the other side of her. She went silent after that, not wanting to start an argument as they laid trapped underneath the floors of the apartment. If she didn’t get out soon, she was going to go crazy.

Carmilla was trying real hard not to think about being trapped underneath the floorboards. It reminded her too much of being buried underneath the Earth for so long. Hearing Laura’s heartbeat helped. Hell, even Mattie being beside her helped. But there was still some panic settling inside her stomach, raw and tight, that made Carmilla think she couldn’t stay under there much longer.

Danny continued talking though and it seemed like she was never going to leave.

“Just fucking go!” Carmilla growled, banging her fists against the floor.

It took another few minutes, but they were let out soon after the Jolly Red Giantess had gone. Unfortunately, things didn’t stay calm for long.

Ginger number one made her appearance and threatened Mattie with holy water. Great. Just great. That was just more aggravation they needed. Everyone could hear the sizzling of Mattie’s flesh being burned, no one moved as Carm placed her arms around her sister. A little bit flew towards Carmilla, burning her skin momentarily. She tried to get Mattie out of the way, but it didn’t work. Anger flooded her and she was almost ready to jump after Raggedy Ann herself.

However, Mattie was not a vampire you could just burn away with holy water without a fight. She went after Perry, fangs puncturing skin. Laura and Laf were freaking out, naturally. Carmilla just stood by, arms folded. That was, until Mattie was back in the room with her hand around Laura’s neck. Fear immediately ran through Carmilla. She didn’t want Laura hurt, but she was no match for Mattie either. Plus, she didn’t want to try to hurt her sister, even with her threatening Laura.

If Carmilla’s heart was still moving, it probably would have jumped from her chest by now. A million things were running through her mind, but the loudest thought was ‘Mattie, don’t. Please.’ She said it over and over again, but never out loud.

Fortunately, Mattie relinquished Laura’s throat when Carmilla shook her head subtly at her. She was more than thankful Mattie loved her enough to listen. Carm didn’t know what she’d do if Laura died at the hands of Mattie. Devastated would be an understatement, to say the least.

Yet again, however, the calm was shaken.

Laf was back in the room soon enough, gunning for the vampire, pissed at Carmilla for saying “No Harm, No Foul.” It looked like the two of them were about to have an argument, but Laura’s breakdown cut through the room.

Carm didn’t think her heart could break any more over this whole thing, but she was wrong. Seeing Laura melting down, a mess in front of her, ripped through her so harshly. She wanted to comfort her, wanted to wrap her arms around her and tell her everything was going to be fine. But that was a lie and Carm knew it. So did Laura.

“You know what? Everyone just SHUT UP! It is almost two in the morning! And I am so tired. And you are right.” Laura pointed towards Carm with her hands. “Nobody’s dead. And you’re right,” pointing towards Mattie, her break down continued, “she attacked you first. And you’re right. About anything. And I just...I…” Laura was flustered and angry and all the negative emotions were fluttering around in her body, overwhelming her. So she sat down, feeling overly exhausted. “I just don’t care. I am so tired. Tired on like, a cellular level. So all of the vampires are gonna go back in their floorboards, and we’re going to get Perry some first aid, and no one is going to yell at me about any of my decisions until I’ve had at least forty-five minutes of sleep. Okay?”

Carmilla didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to leave Laura in the state she was in. Despite everyone going quiet and moving to leave, the vampire stepped forward and outstretched her hand to Laura.

“Laura, I-”

Laura cut her off, throwing her hand up at Carmilla to silence her. “No, Carm. Not right now. Please. Just let me sleep. I just need some sleep. Just….go.”

Swallowing hard, Carmilla nodded and followed Mattie and J.P. under the floorboards. As the door was closed, Mattie turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

Carmilla shook her head. “Don’t fucking start, Mattie. I don’t want to hear it.”

Before Mattie could protest, Carmilla found herself wandering towards the spot where she knew she would be able to hear Laura sleeping. If she slept, that is. As she heard Laura’s footsteps overhead, Carmilla listened intently. She heard Laura climb onto the bed, still sniffling. If she concentrated hard enough, she could almost hear the tears slipping down Laura’s cheeks. A sigh escaped Carmilla’s mouth, followed by a cut off sob.

* * *

Later on, after everything had settled down and everyone had gone to bed, Carmilla stayed up and came out from under the floorboards to sit on the chaise, still listening to Laura crying in her bedroom. She wanted to get up, even though it would hurt like hell, and go lay in bed with her. It hurt her unbeating heart that Laura was in there crying all alone, yet again over Carmilla.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered into the dark. Because she really, really was. She was so sorry, but there was no way to move forward for them, not right now. Carmilla was beginning to wonder if there ever would be  time for them for move forward, together. At this point, it seemed unlikely. Which further hurt Carmilla.

The poor, exhausted, tiny woman emerged an hour later into the room where Carmilla was sitting, stopping as she saw the vampire sitting silently in the dark. Laura was surprised to see Carmilla sitting there, waiting up for her. The honey blonde was sure Carmilla was done watching over her, but it was clear she was wrong.

Their conversation was not a light one. Laura had questions. Questions that she should have known the answers to by now, but she didn’t. She still didn’t understand why Carmilla only cared about her and no one else. Didn’t understand why she couldn’t just do the right thing, whatever that may be. But it was far more complicated than her naive mind could seem to comprehend.

Words were exchanged that could never be taken back, not even if either of them wanted to. The heartbreak was inevitable.

“She isn’t mine. You are.” There was a beat of silence. “To annoy or not. To love or not. To save.” Carmilla stayed silent for a few seconds, finding the next words coming from her mouth to be the hardest to say. “Or not.”

“Carm, you can’t just-” Laura was trying so hard not to cry, but it wasn’t working.

“I know.” Carmilla’s voice broke. “You don’t want any possessive vampire crap.”

As if the conversation wasn’t heavy enough before, it took an even heavier turn. Carmilla confessed to Laura, confessed that she couldn’t give her what she was looking for. All she had to give was the only thing she had, which was the love she held for Laura. A deep love that couldn’t be shaken or ripped away from her. Even if they were not together, Carmilla was always going to love Laura like she had never loved anyone. And really, she hadn’t. Not really. Not until Laura. The love she held for her was breaking her more than anything else ever could.

There were so many things running through both of their minds. Laura felt like she was going to bleed out right in front of Carmilla. Tears were forming in her eyes and threatening to spill. They did spill. The spilled over onto her cheeks, making her wipe away at them. She never thought anything could hurt this bad, but she was wrong.

The conversation continued, bringing a tornado of raw emotions barreling through the room around them and inside them. They both felt like perhaps they’d drop dead right there in the room with the way they were feeling.

“It’s not enough.” It was this phrase that Laura spoke that got stuck in Carmilla’s head.

The vampire kept whispering it to herself, feeling herself shatter over and over again because of it.

When she asked Laura if she missed her, the girl’s response had Carmilla holding back tears she didn’t want to let fall.

“Like someone cut a hole in me.” So, Carmilla wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

Not being with Laura, it felt like Carmilla had been sawed in half. It felt like she was missing something that could never be replaced. So much pain and agony swarmed around in Carmilla so much that it made her feel nauseous. The vampire had never asked for this. Never once wanted to get so involved, but there was certainly no turning back now. Love would always have its sacrifices. Carmilla’s happiness being one of many.

It was the decision that Carmilla made at the end of their conversation, before Laura started to leave the room, that had the raven haired woman on edge. Despite herself and her fears of what could possibly happen, Carmilla told Laura Mattie’s secret. She revealed exactly how to kill Mattie, should she need to. It wasn’t an easy decision, but after the night’s events, Carmilla felt like perhaps she had no other choice. There was no telling if or when her sister would try to kill Laura again. And if Carmilla couldn’t be there to stop it, or couldn’t stop it herself, Laura needed to know exactly what to do to save herself.

When Laura to say goodnight once more, Carmilla stood up abruptly. “Wait.” She whispered, reaching her hand out towards the girl.

Laura looked back at her, looking at her questioningly.

It was silent for a moment, Carmilla was afraid to ask what was going through her mind. She almost said nevermind, but pushed through anyway.

“Just for tonight. Can I… can we share the bed? I don’t want to leave you alone.”

It was clear that Laura hadn’t expected that. She blinked a few times, swallowing hard. Carmilla was sure she was about to be rejected, especially with the amount of time Laura was taking to respond.

The silence ended when Laura nodded her and turned to start walking back to the bedroom. “Sure. Come on.”

This still didn’t fix things. They still couldn’t be together, but Carmilla was taking this as a very small victory, finding comfort in the fact that Laura still wanted her close. It didn’t mend her broken heart and didn’t quell her need to be around Laura and protect her, but it was enough for the time being. It was better than nothing at all.

* * *

Things became even more awkward and super fun after their conversation. Especially considering they spent that night wrapped tightly in each other’s arms. Living with her vampire ex and her sister was not exactly the kind of thing Laura ever thought she would be dealing with. It was even more awkward knowing the secret Carmilla had told her. She was trying to keep them hidden, keep them sustained enough, but it turned out to be a bigger task than Laura was hoping.

Carmilla wasn’t exactly having the best of times being stuck underneath the apartment either. Especially when she had to stay there and listen to Xena check up on Laura frequently. She hated it, hearing them talk and then the silences that follow. Carmilla could almost see Danny staring at Laura with heart eyes and it made the vampire want to punch Agent Orange straight in the face. Maybe worse. She wanted to know what was going on, but she couldn’t get out from under the damn floor to do so. Carmilla was frustrated, to say the least.

“If she makes a fucking move on her, I’m gonna rip her throat out.” It was hunger and jealousy mixed together that was making Carmilla act this way. She didn’t even want to acknowledge that maybe Danny was actually helping Laura. That maybe Danny was keeping her from being totally alone. She ignored it all together and just glared at the floorboards, wanting to burn a hole through them.

“Mircalla, just leave it alone. Shut your eyes, shut them out. There’s nothing you can do. So please, do us all a favor and shut the hell up.” Mattie’s tone was firm and commanding, making Carmilla growl in frustration.

“Fine.” She spat, moving to a different section underneath the floor, just to get away from Mattie. Carmilla would brood in silence by herself.

Just when things were going so swimmingly well (not really), Laura decided to bring back the Hunger Games. Why? Because they all wanted information from Mattie that she didn’t actually have. It frustrated Carmilla to no end that the scooby gang seemed to think that starving vampires was ever a good idea. And what happened? Jeep attacked LaFontaine. Right, precisely why you don’t ever, ever starve vampires. And they were worried Mattie was going to do something. The entire situation had Carmilla rolling her eyes.

So yeah, maybe they did find out at least a little information from Mattie, but not enough to help. Tension. Tension, tension and more tension. That’s all that conversation caused.

“Are we done here or do we get to be subjected to more interrogation and starving?” Carmilla asked with a bit of bite to her words. This entire thing was giving her flashbacks.

Laura sighed, shrugging her shoulders. “Yeah, we’re done.”

“Perfect.” Carmilla said as she snatched the blood bag from LaFontaine. “Thanks.” She snapped sarcastically, turning to Mattie and rolling her eyes.

* * *

Everything started to fall like dominoes after that little incident with J.P. The speed at which they fell was alarming, but not as alarming as the possible outcomes. They were in more trouble than they originally thought.  No one knew what Vordenberg’s plans were, which was troubling to say the least. Corvae was still a problem. As well as the aggravation surrounding Lophii. Unfortunately, all those troubles were just the beginning. It didn’t even compare to what they all had coming towards them.

No one seemed to notice the way Perry had been acting. LaFontaine was a little too attached to Lophii and found themselves spending far more time with J.P. It was becoming a bit of a problem coming up with plans to stop Vordenberg, considering putting him into a powerful position had made him somewhat invulnerable. It was enough to make someone’s mind want to explode to pieces.

Laura still didn’t trust Mattie, which really, after being nearly killed more than once, she couldn’t really be blamed for. It took all that Laura had to keep her mouth shut about it. She had thought about telling Danny the secret several times, thinking perhaps it could save someone’s life, but in the end, Laura had decided not to say anything. After all, it was a secret Carmilla had told her in confidence, in trust. How could she betray her like that? She was warring with herself on it constantly, stripping her bare of her sanity bit by bit. No wonder she was so stressed.

Things weren’t exactly easy on the vampires’ front either. Being hunted wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience. Neither was being hidden under her mother’s apartment. But better that than being in the hands of Vordenberg. And at least this way she could still keep somewhat of an eye on Laura and her safety.

Carmilla’s conversation with Mattie under the floorboards was certainly one for the books. Mattie’s plan wasn’t what Carmilla expected or wanted to hear. Her plan was dangerous, life threatening and fifty fifty on whether it would work or not.

“Mircalla.” Mattie prodded, staring at her sister with her eyebrows up. “It’s our only shot.”

The younger vampire knew Mattie was probably right. After all, she was far older than Carmilla and had made it this far in her second life. However, there was something deep down inside Carmilla that told her that Mattie’s plan was a very bad idea.

They’d been arguing over it for hours and Carmilla actually felt exhausted. Despite Mattie gabbing in her ear about her plan to drink the Old One’s blood, and adding that Carmilla should as well, to help, the vampire could hear Laura in the back of her head. She knew what Laura would think of the idea. Knew that she’d probably try to protest against it. After all, it was Laura. It was what she did best against potentially life threatening ideas. Well, most of them anyway.

Carmilla rolled her eyes and huffed, tired of having this discussion. For the time being, she ignored Laura’s voice in her head and shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Carmilla sighed, shaking her head. “Let’s just get some rest before we go throw ourselves into the crater.”

“You won’t regret it, kitty.” Mattie beamed, tapping the tip of Carmilla’s nose with her finger.

Carmilla snorted, rolling her eyes for the millionth time. “I highly doubt that. Now, shut up and sleep.”

* * *

They were in the middle of their conversation, getting ready to carry out Mattie’s plan, when Laura woke up, protesting from word one. It was just as Carmilla suspected. Laura was absolutely against Vordenberg being killed, nevermind the fact that he had plans no one knew about.

Laura came a little close to revealing that she knew Mattie’s secret. Carmilla felt her stomach twitch when Mattie mentioned the fact that they couldn’t kill her and Laura’s immediate response was a sarcastic, “Oh yeah?”

The vampire had to grind her teeth together and turn back to Laura, giving her a pointed stare. That was not the right move to be making. But the moment passed quickly and Laura was rising up from the chaise to defend herself, showing Mattie exactly what her views on the world were.

Carmilla was caught in between them, head turning from one to the other as they argued. She felt herself being pulled in half, one side of her being pulled towards her sister, the other half towards Laura. It was an uncomfortable feeling, a feeling Carmilla had wanted to avoid at all costs. It wasn’t right, being torn between the love of her life and family. But when had Carmilla’s life even been right? When did things ever actually work out for her well enough? Never. Not even with Laura.

The argument continued, Mattie rambling on about how Laura was naive and spoiled. Ok, so Mattie was right as usual, but Carmilla had to admire the way Laura never gave up, despite what others told her constantly. It was endearing. Dangerous, but endearing.

It was what happened seconds later, when Mattie questioned Laura on what she thought would happen if Carmilla decided to stop protecting her. Carmilla was expecting an answer of “Of course she wouldn’t stop saving me” or “Carmilla would do the right thing,” but that was not what came out of Laura’s mouth.

“That’s her decision to make.”

Oh. Carmilla was sure, for a moment, that she hadn’t heard that right. She blinked a few times, surprise flickering across her features momentarily. Laura’s progress was obvious in just that one sentence. Clearly she still had a ways to go with her naive way of thinking, but the fact that Laura didn’t scramble to immediately put Carmilla in the hero savior spot was refreshing. It gave Carmilla a sliver of hope that she knew was dangerous to have.

It was those words coming from Laura that made Carmilla switch her decision on drinking the blood. It wa the girl standing next to her that she couldn’t seem to quit. So when Mattie asked her for her decision, Carmilla hesitated, but ultimately stood back and decided it was the wrong thing for her to do. She didn’t need to lose any more of herself than she already had. That tiny bit of hope, that seed just planted by Laura, rolled around in Carmilla’s chest, wanting to take hold.

Carmilla was not surprised when Mattie called her a fool and walked out the door. It was here, as Laura proceeded to freak out over Mattie leaving the apartment, that she had to reveal their plan.

“She’s going down to the crater to drink the blood of the old one. She thinks it’ll give her the power to fight Vordenberg.” Carmilla hesitated, reluctant to tell Laura this particular part of why this idea was bad. “If it doesn’t kill her. Or drive her mad.”

And just as Carmilla expected, Laura wasn’t happy with the idea.

“And you were going to do it too?” The look on Laura’s face was shocked, but highly worried at the same time.

“I was...considering it.” Why? Carmilla still wasn’t sure.

There was a panicked look in Laura’s eyes after Carmilla confessed and she wondered exactly why. Why was Laura so concerned over the fact that Carmilla was going to go to that crater with Mattie? She thought Laura had stopped caring, but just Laura’s look alone told her otherwise. It screwed with Carmilla’s head.

“But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be transfigured into an avatar for primeval forces of death and pain.” It was true. The idea sent shivers down Carmilla’s back. And not the good ones.

“Oh my god. She’ll raze the school to the ground trying to kill him. We have to stop her. C’mon!”

Ah, right, the school. That’s what Laura was concerned about. Laura grabbed Carmilla’s hand and lead her to the door, dropping it soon to open it and run out.

Carmilla huffed, shaking her head as she threw her arms out. She didn’t know exactly what they could do or even if they should. Carmilla didn’t care about the school. She still only cared about what happened to Laura. And it was because of that that the vampire followed after Laura, brooding the entire way as she gathered all of her friends.

“Laura, at least put some shoes on!” Carmilla grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose as she followed Laura around, hearing her call after her friends.

Laura blinked, turning towards Carmilla with raised eyebrows. “What?” She asked, confused look on her face.

The vampire pointed at Laura’s feet and raised an eyebrow. “If you’re dead set on going after Mattie, then you at least need some shoes on.”

“Oh. Uh...thanks.” Laura looked down at her feet, then back up at Carmilla, a slow smile creeping across her face. “That’s very Perry of you.” She chided, trying not to chuckle.

Carmilla scoffed. “Whatever. Just put some damn shoes on.” She turned then, walking towards the front door with one more look back at Laura. “And tell the dimwit squad to hurry up. We don’t have all night. You wanna stop her, right?”

* * *

They all searched all night, trying to find where Mattie had gone. She wasn’t at the crater, like they’d originally thought.  Mattie had disappeared without even so much as a trace. Which was both relieving and worrying at the same time. They at least figured out that she hadn’t drunk the blood of the Old One...yet. Carmilla knew that was Mattie’s plan, but she wondered exactly why she hadn’t done it. As well as she knew Mattie, there was something she knew wasn’t right. Something was off and it worried the hell out of her. But there was not much she could do, not with having to continue her hiding out in her Mother’s apartment.

It was only a matter of time that more bad news hit them. Thanks to Kirsch, they found out that Vordenberg was getting ready to kill the anglerfish. And that was most definitely not a good thing. There was no telling what would actually happen if the anglerfish was killed. As Carmilla had pointed out when the whole thing had started, getting rid of one evil just created a power vacuum and brought in another. And it was always possible for the next evil to be worse. Of course, there was a possibility that Vordenberg failed in his attempt to kill the anglerfish and god knew what that could bring about. Either way, whether the old man succeeded or not, something terrible would happen. There was no escaping that.

Thus the reason for Mattie’s idea for the blood. Still dangerous, but it seemed to be the only shot anyone had at all.

However, Big Red had come up with a plan. Everyone was all gung ho about it, except for Carmilla. Sneaking into the crater and sabotaging the machine was going to be a bigger job than it sounded. It was not entirely a bad idea, but it wasn’t the best one either. Again, it was all they really had. Unfortunately, they had to wait until three a.m. to actually do anything.

It was a lot of waiting to do, but it proved to be a bit of a good thing for Laura and Carmilla.

They had been on more civil terms since Laura decided she still cared enough to hide Carm from Vordenberg and his army of super students. Not that she had stopped caring all together. It was just frustrating with Carmilla flaunting everything in her face. Laura also wanted to forget about the angry sex that happened between them all because of discarded clothes.

But as they sat together in the living room, playing a game of Senet, things between them at least seemed fairly normal. Well, normal for a vampire and human stuck in the middle of something evil and dangerous. In all honesty, nothing was normal for them. Vampire’s shouldn’t even exist, but there Laura was, sitting straight across from one and fighting the fact that she was totally in love with said vampire.

Laura was cheating in the game, or trying to, because really, Carmilla was far too good at any game that she played. The honey blonde wondered if she’d ever be able to beat Carmilla at anything. Which was exactly what prompted her cheating. Carmilla caught on, though, which was no surprise. She complained about her skipping the house of beauty, which just didn’t make any sense to Laura at all.

“If this game is supposed to be the underworld, then why is there a house of beauty?” Laura’s tone was incredulous.

Carmilla’s response made Laura roll her eyes. “Don’t you think death can be beautiful?”

“Oh my god, full of yourself much?”

“C’mon, I didn’t mean it like that.” It was very civil and domestic of them, the way they were playing the game and practically ignoring what was going on around them. Laura missed it so much, just being able to be somewhat normal with Carmilla.

Laura had to poke back though, unable to keep her thoughts to herself. “Oh, you were totally going for the whole ‘Belle Dame Sans Merci’ vibe.”

As expected, sort of, Carmilla replied with a rather dark answer that embodied love and death. “I am Death, trod under a fair maid’s feet.”

For a moment, Laura actually took offense to this, but it passed as something else came to the forefront of her mind. Ever since Carmilla admitted to considering drinking the Old One’s blood, and what it could possibly do to her, Laura’s heart had been rather heavy.

So as she sat with Carmilla, feeling her dark eyes boring into her, she posed a question that she had been simultaneously dreading and needing to know.

“Do you think it would have killed you?” Laura felt a lump get stuck in her throat and she was glad she didn’t start crying before she’d asked her question.

Carmilla’s answer did not put Laura’s hurt at ease.

“I don’t know.” There was a beat of silence, Carmilla feeling her own lump in her throat. She pushed past it. “Would you care?”

Perhaps it was a low blow. Carmilla almost, just almost, felt bad for putting that question out there, but her troubled mind and heart needed to know.

Laura was immediately offended, hurt covering her features. Her heart broke a little more. She went off on a tangent in her head as she took a moment to look at Carmilla hurtfully. After all she wasn’t done to trying to protect Carm, to help her, how could she not see that she still cared?

“How can you say that?” Carmilla was silent, but was listening intently. “You think I hid you here after everything because I don’t care? Because the thought of something happening to you doesn’t make me feel like I can’t breathe? And I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel around you or what I’m supposed to do because…”

Laura had to stop her rambling. He throat was hurting with the threat of tears spilling and her heart breaking. She swallowed hard and Carmilla was looking back at her with tears in her own eyes. That picture alone was enough to make tears streak relentlessly down Laura’s cheeks.

She knew she shouldn’t continue. She knew she should stop right there and leave it be, especially as things were starting to bear down on them harder. However, there was no stopping herself. She couldn’t. They had needed to actually sit and talk for so long. Really talk and clear some things out of the way.

“Because I miss you, Carm. I miss you so much that it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. It’s hard to get up and put on a brave face for everybody.” More tears spilled and Laura didn’t even bother reaching up to wipe them off because Carmilla was reaching forward to do it herself. “I just don’t understand why…” She choked on a sob, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers. “I don’t understand why you don’t care about yourself the way I care about you. It scares me so much when you are willing to just throw yourself into whatever danger there is just because I asked you to. I feel like I’m going to crumble and wither away when I think about something possibly happening to you. I can’t lose you again, Carm. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened. And it’s not fair for me to ask so much of you. I realize that now. I try so hard not to hope what could be for us someday. I don’t wanna hope but I do and it isn’t fair.” She had to stop again, feeling like her throat was closing up the more words spilled from her mouth.

Laura tried to continue, but her next words were cut short by Carmilla leaning forward, grabbing her by her neck and bringing their lips into a kiss. Stars burst behind Laura’s eyes. It was the kind of kiss that made her feel like jelly and melted her to the core. It was breathy and needy and all the things they felt for each other in one kiss. It brought out more tears for Laura, but she didn’t even bother holding them back. Feeling Carmilla’s lips against hers killed her and brought her back to life all at the same time.

The honey blonde had her hand placed against the side of Carm’s face, fingers weaving in her hair. Her other arm wrapped around the vampire’s waist to pull her closer. She’s missed this so fucking much and her body ached to continue. She ached everywhere, including inside her body. It was the worst ache she had ever felt and Carmilla fed it and soothed simultaneously.

Carmilla pulled back just a little, resting her face against Laura’s. It felt so right having her in her arms. And their kiss felt like she was finally breathing after drowning for hundreds of years. She could feel goosebumps rising on her skin, everywhere on her body. There was nothing in this world that she loved more than Laura. Not a damn thing. And it made her feel so damn empty inside to know that Laura was in her arms, yet nothing was resolved. She had Laura close to her, her lips against her just a moment before, but they were still not together. Agonizing would be an understatement for how Carmilla felt.

Laura leaned in for another kiss, unable to help herself. Kissing Carmilla was like finally get her heart put back into her chest. She knew very well that this could set them back, even just a little, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care for the time being. She would care later, after all was said and done, but Laura just let herself be in the moment without immediately overthinking it. Carmilla was in her arms and there was nothing, not one thing, she wanted more than that. At least, nothing she wanted more as of that moment. She knew the world was falling down around their ears, but it could at least wait for just another minute. Whatever god there might be could at least give them these few moments to lean into each other and have back, even if just momentarily, what they’d both been aching for.

The pair were tangled around each other, breathing each other in like air and clinging like it was their last day on Earth (which it very well could be), when Laf came storming in.

The vampire and her tiny human were reluctant to pull away from each other, but they did. Slowly, but surely, inch by inch, they parted as Laura looked over at LaFontaine.

Laf blinked for a moment before speaking. “Sorry- But it’s nearly three. We gotta hustle or we’ll be leaving Danny and the Summer’s in the lurch.”

Laura nodded, getting up from her seat. “Yeah. We’re coming.”

She looked down at Carmilla, ignoring Laf for just a moment. “If we survive this, we can talk after. We can talk…” The freshman stopped, looking away from Carmilla’s intense gaze.

“If we survive,” Carmilla breathed, removing herself from her chair and waiting for Laura to move.

As they left the room, both left their hopes at the door. There was no telling what was going to happen once they were out there. For all they knew, they could die that night.

* * *

They needed this plan to work out, but it seemed that fate was not going to grant them any favors. Not that many of them had been expecting that in the first place. Plans to destroy the machine aimed for Lophii did not go as planned. They didn’t even get to enact the plan at all. Danny never showed up, but that was not what set a streak of alarm through Laura and LaFontaine as they came back to the apartment.

No, what filled them both with dread was the sight of Mattie, covered in blood and surrounded by it, passed out on Laura’s desk. Things went by in a blur after they stumbled upon that scene. Mattie confessed to not knowing exactly what happened. LaFontaine finally showed some rather high emotions and was more than ready to try to kill Carmilla’s sister. Laura found herself shocked to see Carmilla holding LaFontaine back, almost like she cared, but she was too in the moment for her to comment on it.

It was a good thing Laura was rather bad at turning her camera off because they did find at least one answer from watching the video. Much to everyone’s surprise, Perry and Mattie showed up on the screen. Perry wasn’t acting like herself, didn’t even sound like herself. The sight being played before them on the computer was unsettling, to say the least.

There were key things that Perry said that stood out to both Carmilla and Mattie. Those dead hearts of theirs almost felt like they’re going to jump straight from their chests. Mattie understood more than Carmilla, but their sense of dread were one in the same.

“I see the Great Beast dead and the gates opening.” Again, the gates were mentioned. Not good.

“I see the reign of hell on Earth. The end of all things.” The atmosphere in the room became increasingly more tense and terrifying.

“The first gate wants. The. Rook.” That was the phrase that Carmilla and Mattie were most worried about. How would Perry know all of this?  How would she know that Mattie was the rook? What was more disconcerting was the fact that Perry was looking at Mattie’s locket in that video. The pair of vampire’s felt shivers creep over their bodies, filling them with fear.

The camera cut off then and more questions were brought up than answers. The tension in the room was so thick that it was almost impossible for anyone to breathe. Nothing was looking good for Mattie here. Absolutely none of it. Whatever game was being played, Mattie was the rook. Just as Mother had always called her. And there was no way she would have just let Perry go.

But that didn’t matter to Mattie. At least, not in the long run and in the face of a death prophecy, the end of all things. There was an apocalypse coming their way and from the looks of it, there was no way of stopping it.

However, before more questions could be asked, Vordenberg appeared. Just what they needed. Laura was shocked, though, to find Danny following behind him with a murderous look on her face.

The old man spouted off, as per usual, but the more he talked, the more things seemed even more bleak and dreary. Not that everything was all sunshine before. Mattie was being blamed for the murdering of Danny’s eight Summer Sister’s. It didn’t help in the least that Mattie remembered nothing. It was clear the vampires were about to be contained, but it didn’t mean they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Laura was fighting back tears, clearly overwhelmed. Carmilla was contemplating how she was going to get herself out of this. She was actually considering going quietly so she didn’t have to hurt anyone, for Laura’s sake of course. The vampire wondered what her sister would do if things went awry in the room. And by the looks of it, and the looks on everyone’s faces, things were going to take a far more dramatic turn than Carmilla was hoping for.

Danny was unable to keep her anger under control. She blamed Mattie for the murders. Not that Laura could blame her for that. With all the blood scattered of the older vampire, it did look as if she had killed them. Laura thought about what she said moments ago, about it being a set up. Laura didn’t believe her. How could she? Obviously she had killed the Summer Sisters, but what happened to Perry? So many questions and so little time for them to be answered.

Without warning, without any type of preamble or word from Vordenberg, Danny launched towards Mattie in a fit of rage. Chaos was a tame word compared to what happened right in front of Laura’s eyes.

The tall redhead was reaching quickly for Mattie’s neck, making Laura and Carmilla’s eyes go wide. Vordenberg was knocked to the side, crashing into Kirsch and making them both fall to the floor.

It was in that moment that Laura immediately found herself panicking. Danny was tugging on the locket, trying to break it free of Mattie’s neck. Laura could feel Carmilla’s eyes on her and she dared not look up into the vampire’s eyes. It looked like Laura told Danny Mattie’s secret, but that wasn’t the case at all. However, the way Danny was pulling at Mattie’s locket made it look like she spilled the beans.

Mattie let out a screech, but Danny barely even seemed to notice. She was running on adrenaline and rage. Laura covered her ears, but it was while Mattie was screeching that she realized this situation was about to become a massacre. Laura jumped in between Mattie and Danny quickly, trying to help the situation, but just making it worse. She tried to pry Danny’s fingers from the locket, but it was of no use.

Laura thought she heard Carmilla yelling her name, but it was hard to hear over Mattie’s continual screeching. What she didn’t see coming, what she couldn’t predict, was the feeling of almost having her throat ripped out by Mattie. Obviously the vampire thought Laura was aiding Danny in removing the locket and destroying it.

Mattie wasn’t having it. Whether Laura was Carmilla’s person or not, Mattie was not about to be destroyed by children. Human children at that. So Mattie launched towards Laura’s neck, primed to kill.

Carmilla felt herself being torn apart in more ways than one. Seeing Mattie ready to kill Laura made her feel heavy and chained down, but she found the strength to break through those mental chains and grabbed at Mattie’s neck. She had just enough of an element of surprise to back Mattie off.

Mattie was just at Laura’s neck, fangs scraping just enough to break the skin, before she felt herself being ripped away from the thrumming beat of blood she was just about to taste. When she turned, and snarled, she saw Carmilla standing in front of Laura in a protective stance. Mattie’s outrage was clear and it blinded her enough for just a moment to give Carmilla the chance to give a flash of the locket in her hand.

Carmilla felt like crying and screaming, but she steeled herself in her stance and stared Mattie down. A myriad of emotions flickered across Mattie’s face, which told Carmilla she needed to make her decision very quickly.

Her sister made an attempt to barrel towards her, but Carmilla quickly threw the locket on the floor and stomped down on it with as much force as her vampiric strength could give her.

The floorboards underneath her feet cracked from the force, but the loudest sound to Carmilla, was the sound of the locket smashing into bits.

Mattie stopped her advance and stood stark still. Her eyes went wide, betrayal being the most prominent emotion existing on her features before Carmilla smashed her foot down one more time.

In a scream loud enough to break the windows, Mattie clutched at her chest before she began to crumble and turn to dust.

Silence filled the room after that, nothing to be heard but heavy breathing. They was all staring at the pile of ashes on the floor. All except Carmilla.

There were tears streaking down her face, ones that she couldn’t hold back. No one moved or made a sound, most of them probably afraid to.

Laura’s eyes finally moved from the ashes to Carmilla. There were a million and one emotions coursing through Laura’s veins, but heartbreak for Carmilla was the most prominent. She didn’t even give it a second thought as she tried to reach for Carmilla. She was barely touching the vampire’s skin before Carmilla pulled away quickly with a hiss.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” Carmilla growled before storming off, not even looking back at Laura.

“Carm! Please! Wait!” The freshman called after her, reaching her hand out and making an attempt to grab Carmilla’s arm.

Carmilla whirled around and glared evilly down at Laura. “I said! Don’t. Touch. Me.” As the last word fell from her mouth, Carmilla bared her fangs once and then turned to retreat once more.

Laura watched Carmilla leave, feeling like her heart was being ripped from her chest all over again. Tears streaked down Laura’s face and she dropped to the floor, sobbing for a million reasons.

* * *

Carmilla was gone for two days. Two days of anguish that Laura felt cracking her piece by piece. She went out to search for her at night, despite being told otherwise by her friends, to see if she could find Carmilla. It was no use though. If Carmilla didn’t want to be found, she would not be found.

The freshman had never felt so much guilt and hurt in her entire life. She hadn’t actually wanted Mattie dead. She didn’t want that to happen, especially since it would destroy Carmilla if it did. But the fact that Carmilla had to do it herself, all because Laura had tried to defuse the situation, well, the honey blonde felt like she should just throw herself into that crater and be done with it.

Laura was lying in bed, crying for the millionth time, when she heard the creak of the bedroom door open. It startled her, making her sit up quickly in the bed. She blinked, trying to get her eyes to focus in the dark. Her heart was pounding quickly in her chest. She couldn’t see or hear anything.

Suddenly there was a dip in the bed, right next to Laura. It was Carmilla’s smell that hit her first. Earthy and so Carmilla that it was impossible not to know it was her.

“Carm?” Laura asked, scooting closer towards the dark form she could barely make out.

She was met with silence, Carmilla was sitting still as a statue. Laura opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Not quite yet. There was so much she wanted to say. Even more she wanted to apologize for. So she swallowed, licked her lips and tried again.

“Carm. I’m so sorry. I didn’t…” Laura stopped, not sure how to finish her sentence. Despite all the words buzzing around in her head, she couldn’t seem to get the words straight enough to say what she needed to Carmilla.

“Why did you tell her?” Carmilla whispered. Her voice was so low that Laura barely caught the brokenhearted question.

“I didn’t tell her, Carm. I swear. I never said a word about that locket to Danny.” It was the truth, the god’s honest truth.

The vampire sucked in a deep breath, trying not to make it shake so much. It didn’t work. Mattie had been the only family she had left. She was all she had had as far as family went and for quite some time. It didn’t help that she looked up to her older sister as a role model of sorts, but now she was gone. Gone and never coming back, all because she needed to protect Laura.

Laura crawled out from underneath the covers and seated herself beside Carmilla, able to see a little better now that her eyes had adjusted. Tentatively, she placed her arm around Carmilla’s waist and held tight. Thankfully, Carmilla didn’t pull away like Laura thought she would.

Instead, Carmilla fell into Laura and buried her face in her ex girlfriend’s neck. “She’s gone, Laura. Mattie is gone and I killed her.”

Laura brought up her free hand to tuck a piece of hair behind Carmilla’s ear, quickly moving to wipe away the tears falling from her eyes. She was just about to say something, opening her mouth to let words spill out, when the door to the room slammed open. It scared Laura, making her jump nearly a foot in the air.

Yet again, it was LaFontaine. They look utterly surprised at the scene before them, obviously not having heard Carmilla come back, but there was an odd mix of surprise, worry and relief spread across their features.

“Perr…Perry is back. But…” Their words teetered off, not exactly sure how to continue that sentence. “She’s not herself.”

Laf’s eyes grew wide with fear then and immediately Carmilla was up, storming out of the bedroom. Laura barely had time to catch up as she slipped out of bed. LaFontaine was close behind them as they entered the living room.

“Mother.” It was the first thing Laura and Laf heard, sounding like a growl, as they entered into the room.

Needless to say, they were quite surprised to hear Carmilla say that, but even more surprised that Perry seemed to respond to it.

“Mircalla.” Perry purred, but it was not Perry. The dean was speaking through the den mother, the smirk splashed across the redhead’s mouth was very unlike the girl she was supposed to be.

“What the hell are you doing?” Carmilla growled, taking a step towards Perry...no, her mother. Her not so dead mother.

The smirk that crept onto possessed Perry’s face was a mix between raging anger and smug satisfaction. She licked her lips and tilted her head to the right.

“I was informed that my darling Mircalla murdered her own sister.” A beat of silence followed, the only sound in the rooms was the beating of Laura and LaFontaine’s hearts. “I needed Matska. She was a pivotal piece in my plan. And here you are, messing things up for me once more. I do believe you owe me, darling.”

Carmilla was feeling sick to her stomach, hearing her Mother’s voice, somehow, some way through Perry’s body. The sound grated against her nerves and brought a lump to her throat. She swallowed hard, not taking her eyes off of Perry.

“I don’t owe you a damn thing.” Carmilla snarled. Her fangs were bared and hands balled up into fists. She could feeling Laura shifting beside her, but didn’t dare take her eyes off the person in front of her.

Laura wasn’t moving. Nor had even thought about moving an inch away from Carmilla. Her brow was furrowed and there was a frown pulling her lips down. She wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.

“That is where you’re wrong, Mircalla, dear. You owe me quite a bit. Especially now that I have to replace Matska with someone else.” There was a dramatic pause, the smirk on Perry’s face growing wider. “I know just the one to do it.” The look on her face screwed up into one of evil delight, the smirk the most evil thing any of them had ever seen on Perry’s face.

Laura and LaFontaine had to remind themselves that that wasn’t Perry that was talking.

Dean Perry’s eyes flickered to Laura and realization set in for Carmilla. Her words were beginning to make sense. Her body began to vibrate from the amount of anger and fear that was coursing through it. She barely registered Laura’s voice calling out to her, all she could focus on was that horridly satisfied smirk that her mother was sporting through Ginger One’s body.

Perry...no, the Dean, she had to remember it was the Dean, took a step forward and Carmilla bared her fangs and a growl ripped from her throat.

“Touch her and you die.” Carmilla spat, body still thrumming with immense anger.

Two gasps were heard behind Carmilla, followed by an eerie chuckle. Her head snapped back to Perry’s possessed body and she stepped towards the woman.

“Now, now, darling. You mustn’t be rash. Remember, this is the body of someone your lovely girlfriend cares about. How well do you think this is going to turn out for you should you decide to attack me? Let us not forget the power I possess. You couldn’t beat me before, what makes you think you can beat me now?” Her voice was lined with pure satisfaction, all syllables like a purr of contentment. Just the lost and torn look in Carmilla’s eyes told the Dean exactly how her darling daughter was feeling.

Carmilla shuddered and looked away for just a moment, conflict making her second guess what she was just about to do. She knew she was just trying to get inside her head, make her doubt herself, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t right about the amount of power she possessed. God, this was such a fucking mess. How had none of them seen this coming? How did they let all of this get past them?

The vampire was truly feeling trapped, suffocated and chained down. Yes, that was definitely her mother that was taking over the curly haired one’s body. Her own body was beginning to vibrate more, but she was still aware of everything going on around her.

The Dean stepped forward and Carmilla snarled once more. She was ready to tear at her neck, ready to kill and almost without hesitation, but Laura’s voice reached her ears just in time.

“Carm? Please, don’t kill Perry. There has to be another way.” Laura begged, her voice wavering as she tried to keep back her tears.

Carmilla ground her teeth and chanced a glance back at Laura and Laf. They looked absolutely distraught and helpless, both pleading with their eyes.

“There’s no other way, Laura. The only other person who could have helped was Mattie and she’s dead. I have to do this. Even if it kills me.”

Laura’s face fell from distraught to horrified and broken. “No…” Was the only word that came from her mouth before a sobs began to escape.

Carmilla had her body turned halfway towards Laura, trying to hold back her own tears as she watched the weight of her words bring Laura down even further as they sank in. Laura, Carmilla and LaFontaine all shared a look of utter defeat. There really was no other way.

LaFontaine nodded to Carmilla, tears streaming down their face as they looked down at the floor. Laura’s eyes were still pleading with Carmilla, but all Carmilla could do was communicate her apology through her eyes.

Carmilla was turning to lunge at Perry just seconds later, but when she turned around, she was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose like bile in Carmilla’s throat as her eyes darted around the room. It was the creak of the floorboard behind her and Laura’s gasp that made her turn around.

The vampire’s dark eyes widen as she found the Dean holding Laura from behind, tilting her head to the side to expose her neck. Carmilla’s mouth went dry and her world stopped in its tracks, crumbling slowly around her.

LaFontaine decided, in the heat of the moment, to make a stupid move and lunged towards her best friends body, but Perry moved too quickly for them and the science major only fell to the floor. The Dean kicked at them, the front of her shoe connecting to their temple hard enough to make them black out cold.

Carmilla tried to take that opportunity to make her own move, but Perry’s body was moving out of the way faster than she would be able to if she were not possessed.

A dark chuckle filled the room and Carmilla balled her hands into fists tight enough to make her fingernails dig into her palm, making blood seep from her skin.

“You can’t save her, my darling. Resistance is futile. She has to pay for the mistake that you made.” She was speaking as if this was just another day, like it was the most natural thing in the world for these events to be happening. It only served to fuel Carmilla’s anger, driving it past boiling point.

“Don't you dare fucking hurt her. I. Will. Kill.” Carmilla took a step forward with each word, feet stomping against the floorboard. Her voice trembled in desperation, but did not the lose the edge of menace and danger.

The threat didn’t even make the Dean blink, however. If anything, it made her smile widen further. There was a look of satisfaction in her eyes, a look of pure evil and malice. It made Carmilla shudder as she looked down to lock her eyes with Laura’s.

The look on Laura’s face made Carmilla’s stomach drop. It was obvious in her eyes that she was panicking on the inside. She was biting her bottom lip almost hard enough to break the skin. Laura tried to wiggle her way out of the Dean’s arms, but it was no use. Her hold tightened and Laura whimpered, eyes widening further. There was no easy way out of this and they all knew it.

* * *

It happened rather quickly. There was no other choice but for Carmilla to make a move. So she lunged towards the Dean, twisting to grab Laura out of her grip while her fangs were bared and aiming towards the redhead’s neck. However, it didn’t go quite like Carmilla wanted it to. Of course it didn’t, the universe wasn’t that kind to her.

As soon as Carmilla was close enough, the Dean tightened one arm around Laura and the crack that sounded around the room frightened the dark haired vampire greatly. A look of pain washed over Laura’s face and she looked to Carmilla, pleading for help. Carmilla reached out for her, desperate to free Laura from the painful hold she was under.

However, Carmilla didn’t even come close enough to saving Laura. Instead, a hand gripped Carmilla’s throat and a low laugh entered her ears. Her eyes went wide as she stared at her mother and the body she had taken over. Instinct to save Laura kicked in then and Carmilla opened her mouth, resorting to begging.

“Mother. Please. Don’t hurt her. Use me instead. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Just let Laura go.” Carmilla’s voice cracked a few times, but she was beyond caring at this point. She just wanted to save Laura.

The answering laugh made Carmilla feel sick and like the rug had been pulled out from under her. The following words did not help to ease Carmilla’s fright.

“Beg all you want, Mircalla, but this is the price for you ruining my plans once again. Your love will have its sacrifice.” The Dean spat the word love as if it tasted bad on her tongue, but it didn’t keep her from smirking menacingly.

Carmilla wanted to rip that smirk off of her Mother’s face and anger boiled in her veins from the weight of everything that was happening. So she struggled, struggled against the hold Mother had on her. She struggled so hard that the Dean squeezed even harder, her hold on Laura with her other arm tightening as well. Another crack sounded again and Carmilla grimaced, nearly choking out a sob as Laura cried out in pain.

“LET HER GO!” Carmilla screamed, struggling even more and nearly breaking out of the hold on her neck.

She was so close to grabbing Laura, but not close enough. The Dean let Laura go for just a second, if only to grab hold of Carmilla more securely. Carmilla didn’t even care that she might die, all she cared about was Laura getting out.

“LAURA! RUN! PLEASE, JUST RUN!” The last word was strangled as the Dean gripped even tighter on Carmilla’s throat, making her words die out and teeter off.

Laura hesitated for a moment too long, wanting to do something to save Carmilla. She couldn’t just leave her there and let her be killed. So instead of running, Laura grabbed the closest thing to her (which happened to be a fire poker that had been used earlier) and turned towards Perry’s possessed body. She moved to swing the fire poker at her, but before she could even get halfway there, the Dean held up her hand and twisted it in a flourishing motion.

She first heard the snap before pain went rushing through her body. Laura’s eyes flickered to Carmilla, an apology and fright clearly filling her eyes. This wasn’t how it was supposed to turn out. No one was supposed to die, but Laura had a fleeting thought, for just a moment, that she was glad it had been her and not Carmilla. She vaguely heard Carmilla screaming and barely registered what was happening when her vision went dark and she crumpled to the floor.

* * *

As Laura’s paling body fell hard to the floor, Carmilla let out a scream that rivaled Mattie’s. The Dean turned to look at Carmilla, eyes widening as she realized the power she had just unleashed.

Carmilla ripped herself from her Mother’s grip and dove straight for her throat. She had a thought that LaFontaine might hate her once they woke up and found out what had happened, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care because she had to kill the beast that just murdered Laura right in front of her.

Not another thought passed through her mind after that as Carmilla’s fangs connected with the Dean’s neck. She latched on to a fair amount of skin and ripped. A cry rang out around the room as flesh was torn from muscle and bone. Carmilla lunged back in, tearing out yet another part of Perry’s neck. She was ravenous, murderous and all the things a monster could be. Her fangs ripped and slash at the body trapped by her arms, unable to stop herself as heartbreak and rage fueled her onward.

It was the gurgle and the absence of struggling that alerted Carmilla that Perry’s body was no longer of any use to the Dean. She wondered, briefly, if that would send Mother’s spirit back to hell. There was no hope left in Carmilla to think that it would, but something bigger drew her away from the dead body that she had thrown carelessly to the floor.

Carmilla didn’t even look back as she knelt down next to Laura’s lifeless body. Blood was dripping from her mouth and onto her clothes, but she barely even noticed. She brought an arm up to wipe at the blood on her mouth and it smeared across her skin. Tears were streaming down her face, mixing with the blood and making clean spots where they landed. So much for vampires not crying.

With a shaking hand, Carmilla reached out to cup Laura’s face, hissing slightly at the feel of her cold flesh against her palm. Panic rose further and quickly up Carmilla’s chest and her eyes darted around Laura’s body. She had to do something. There had to be a way. Of course, there was really only one way she could save Laura and she didn’t have time to hesitate or even think about the consequences.

Bringing her left wrist to her mouth, Carmilla bit down and pulled just enough to open up a big wound. Turning back to Laura, she placed her right hand underneath Laura’s head and tangled her fingers in her hair, holding her love’s head up as she pressed her wrist to her mouth.

The blood mostly spilled out onto Laura’s mouth and down the sides of her cheeks. Carmilla growled and let go of Laura’s head, using her now free hand to open up the girl’s mouth.

Carmilla had never sired a vampire before, never changed anyone. She never wanted to give anyone the life she’d had to lead, but desperation made one do things that they’d never thought of before. And the thought of roaming this Earth without Laura made Carmilla violently sick. She had to do this, she had to save her. Carmilla had no idea if Laura would ever forgive her for this, but that was assuming her attempt at bringing Laura back would even work.

She was unsure of exactly how much blood Laura needed to change. Carmilla was unsure of the entire process, really, but she had to try. She couldn’t just give up. She was willing to bleed her entire body if she had to. Willing to send herself into a shock if it ensured that Laura would wake up.

* * *

Hours later, Carmilla found herself sitting next to Laura’s body on the bed they had once shared. She had been watching Laura’s body the entire time. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t done a damn thing. Carmilla was pale and needed to feed, but she refused to move away from her love’s body. Refused to even think about it what she needed.

LaFontaine had woken up only an hour after Carmilla killed Perry’s body. The science ginger had yelled and screamed profanities, a lot of which were geared toward Carmilla. The vampire hadn’t even flinched. Laf screamed and hollered more after they found out about Laura. They screamed and cried until their voice gave out. After that, the life ran out of their face completely and they left the room, dragging Perry’s body with them.

The entire apartment fell silent after that. And Carmilla had barely even registered the fact that LaFontaine had been there at all.

Carmilla sat for a few more hours, unmoving, staring at Laura’s body and willing it to move. She wanted her to wake up. She wanted Laura to be okay. Carmilla wanted her love to sit up and argue with her, scream at her, anything that indicated she was alive in some way. It was selfish, Carmilla knew that, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Another few hours went by and Carmilla began to really worry. Never knowing exactly how the process had gone, she didn’t know if her bleeding for Laura would even work. Her minimal amount of hope was starting to crash as twenty-four hours passed by and nothing happened. Already she missed the sound of Laura’s beating heart.

The vampire continued to ignore her own body and the way it was telling her she needed blood. She ignored everything around her except for Laura’s lifeless body. She was too still for Carmilla’s liking, too silent and far too cold. This was not how things were supposed to happen. Perhaps if she had noticed Perry’s odd behavior before, maybe she could have prevented this. However, it was too late to turn back now. Nothing else could be done. So Carmilla continued to wait.

Forty-eight hours, that was how long it had been since she gave most of her blood to Laura. Even longer since she fed, but she still didn’t wanna move away from Laura’s body. Carmilla was fairly sure her turning Laura hadn’t worked, considering that her body hadn’t moved even once.

Carmilla was sure she’d cried enough tears to last her a million lifetimes. She closed her eyes for just a moment, sucking in a breath she didn’t even need, when the sound of the covers rustling filled the room.

Her dark eyes popped open, looking to Laura’s body immediately. She was just as still as she was before she closes her eyes, but Carmilla stared harder. The rustling sound happened again and this time Carmilla’s saw Laura’ fingers moving. In a flash, Carmilla was on her knees, hovering over Laura’s body. Her hands hovered uselessly around Laura’s body, more tears streaming down her face.

“Laura.” Carmilla croaked, finally placing her hands on the sides of Laura’s neck.

Silence followed for a moment, until Laura’s eyes begin to flutter open. They popped open and her body jerked upwards, rising herself from the bed in a rush. Immediately, Laura began to cough and splutter. Carmilla took a hold of the girl’s shoulders and watched intently, rubbing soothing circles into the flesh beneath her hands. She moved one hand to rub circles into Laura’s back, trying to get her to calm down. She remembered having woken up after dying and it was a less than a pleasant experience. Sorrow filled Carmilla’s chest, but it lingered with the hope that had almost died out.

Carmilla said Laura’s name like a mantra, looking over the girl’s body with watchful eyes.

Laura stopped coughing, stopped moving altogether. She was as still as stone. Carmilla watched her face as realization dawned there.

The once human girl’s eyes widen and her mouth dropped open. A hand flew to her chest as her head turned towards Carmilla. There was a dry, burning feeling in the back of her throat and she swallowed, but it didn’t help. The thirst for blood rang through her body and her eyes widened further as she finally realized what had happened.

Flashes of her last moments as human flickered through Laura’s mind. The last thing she remembered was thinking about how destroyed Carmilla would be, watching her die. It seemed she had been right.

Moving away from Carmilla, moving quicker than she ever had in her entire life, she stared at the surprised vampire in shock. Laura knew what had happened, but she didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to think that Carmilla would do this to her.

Carmilla reached out towards Laura, but she scooted away from her, out of reach. The dark haired woman’s face fell and she crawled from the bed, wanting to step towards Laura, but didn’t do so.

The newly made vampire noticed every little thing, seeing the crinkles in Carmilla’s forehead more clearly than she ever thought possible. Laura climbed off the bed and took a step towards Carmilla, but stopped and clenched her jaw as Carmilla opened her mouth.

Laura held up her hand and shook her head, baffled beyond belief as that thirst for blood boiled up fierce and raw in her chest.

“What…” Laura’s voice cracked, her throat still dry. She cleared it and tried again. “Carmilla. What did you do?”

As the two stared at each other, one with shock and the other with a mixture of apology and relief, silence filled the room.

Like it or not, that was the beginning of Laura’s vampire life and unfortunately, things were far from ideal.


End file.
